The Ministry of National Defense decided to carry out an inspection following the controversy over the Army's 1st Corps' warning operation 'without live ammunition' and confirm similar cases in other frontline corps and issue institutional warnings.
It seems difficult to avoid criticism that the use of firearms in front-line units deviated from the principles and depended on the discretion of the corps commander, and that safety devices at the higher unit level did not work properly, making it difficult to avoid criticism that it had been a 'heavy operation' for several years.
An official from the Ministry of National Defense announced on the 5th that as a result of inspecting the ammunition carrying situation of frontline units, "As of the time of the inspection, some units were operating some firearms with unloaded ammunition without revision of the guidelines or official documents supporting the issue."
According to the office of Rep. Kang Seon-young of the People Power Party, a member of the National Defense Committee of the National Assembly, in addition to the 1st Corps, various cases of unloaded ammunition from personal and public firearms that did not comply with procedures were confirmed in the 2nd and 3rd Corps, which are in charge of guarding the front-line post (GP) and general outpost (GOP).
There were cases where subordinate divisions of the corps themselves implemented misfired ammunition, or the corps did not take corrective action even though it was aware of the issue after the fact.
According to Rep. Kang Seon-young's office, most cases of unsap coal occurred between 2024 and this year, and dating back to 2023, they were also identified.
An official from the Ministry of National Defense explained, “The timing of changes to the method of carrying ammunition is determined by each corps and has nothing to do with a specific period and is different for everyone.”
According to the results of the inspection, the Ministry of National Defense reportedly decided to issue an institutional warning to the 22nd Division under the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Corps and the Army Ground Operations Command (Jijaksa), a superior unit of the forward corps.
An official from the Ministry of National Defense said, "Based on the results of the inspection, we plan to issue institutional warnings and improvements to the Joint Chiefs of Staff (Joint Chiefs of Staff), the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and subordinate military units."
As the method of carrying ammunition is a matter of control of the local branch, it is planned to be improved with the intention of issuing an agency warning to the local branch and supplementing the work system for the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
There was also a case of unshoved ammunition in the 5th Army Corps, but it was excluded from the agency warning as it appears that related procedures, such as revising its own guidelines, were taken under the direction of the corps commander.
In addition, the Ministry of National Defense does not plan to request disciplinary action against individuals, including Army 1st Corps Commander Han Ki-seong, who was excluded from his duties due to this controversy.
Regarding this, an official from the Ministry of National Defense explained, "It is impossible to confirm exactly when the method of carrying ammunition was applied differently from the guidelines, and since there are many people involved in the work in each unit, identifying individuals is realistically limited, so we are issuing an agency warning so that the system can be improved."
Last July, it was revealed that the 1st Corps, which has jurisdiction over the Western Front, had changed its guard operation guidelines to prevent firing live ammunition into common weapons such as K6 heavy machine guns and K4 high-velocity grenade launchers during GP/GOP guard operations starting in the first half of this year, sparking controversy. It was later revealed that no live ammunition was inserted into the personal firearm.
Accordingly, the Ministry of National Defense inspected the operational status of frontline units last August.
As a result, widespread mismanagement was confirmed, with the frontline security operation guidelines, which are based on the principle of using live ammunition, being implemented differently in each unit.
It is known that whether or not to carry ammunition can be changed under the responsibility of the corps commander, but it must be based on the evaluation of the operational situation, and even if changes are made, according to the guidelines, they must be reported to the Jijaksa, a higher-ranking unit, for review.
It is pointed out that because these safety devices did not function properly, the status quo or comprehensive reporting and management system at the higher unit level were left insufficient.
However, some in the military say that a different approach to security operations is needed as surveillance capabilities have greatly improved compared to the past.
