KBS News

[앵커]

The content of the conversation between the brigade commander of the unit belonging to the corporal who died during the search for missing people due to floods in July last year and the former commander of the 1st Marine Division Lim Seong-geun was made public.

At the time, field commanders asked to stop the search, but former division commander Lim allowed the search to continue. In response, former division commander Lim claimed that he was only expressing his opinion because the field command authority at the time belonged to the Army.

This is reporter Kim Deok-hoon.

[리포트]

It was confirmed that the 7th Brigade Commander of the 1st Marine Division, who was dispatched to the flood scene at the time of the ‘Corporal Chae Death Incident’, made a statement to former Marine Corps 1st Division Commander Lim Seong-geun that he suggested stopping the search, but it was not accepted.

This was a remark made during a phone call with the commander of the 7th Artillery Battalion of the 7th Brigade on July 18th of last year, the day before Corporal Chae’s death, and heavy rain was heavy that day as well.

[7여단장/음성변조/지난해 7월 18일: “○○아 그쪽(실종자 수색 현장) 상황이 좀 어떠냐?”]

[포병7대대장/음성변조/지난해 7월 18일 : “비가 많이 와서 (장병들에게) 잠깐 차에 타 있으라고 했습니다.”]

The brigade commander also drew the line that withdrawal was not allowed, saying, “It is up to the commander on the scene to make the decision.”

The idea is that we have already suggested this to the division commander, but it was not accepted.

[7여단장/음성변조 : “정식으로 철수 지시는 상황이 애매하다. 사단장님께 몇 번 건의드렸는데…첫 날부터, 알잖아?”]

This statement contradicts former Division Commander Lim’s claim that he had no actual operational control over the search site and was therefore not responsible for Corporal Chae’s death.

Former division commander Lim has maintained the position that “the authority and responsibility for ensuring safety during operational activities rests with the Army’s 50th Division, which is an operational control unit.”

In relation to this, former division commander Lim told KBS, “The 7th brigade commander asked for my opinion, who happened to be with me at the time, and I presented my opinion. The brigade commander made a recommendation to the army 50th division commander and it was approved.”

In the end, it is true that former division commander Lim presented his opinion regarding the search to the brigade commander at the time, but it was not an order.

In addition, opinions regarding the search were also explained to the effect that the brigade commander only asked and responded first.

This is Kim Deok-hoon from KBS News.

Video Editing: Jo Wan-ki / Graphics: Ko Seok-hoon