(Lead) Top Air Force Commander provides public excuses for accidental bombings

(Attn: adds byline, details about the provisional evidence in paragraph 6-9; changes the photos)
By Lee Minji and Chae Yun-Hwan

Seoul, March 10 (Yonhap) – the best commander of the Air Force issued a public excuse on Monday on the accidental bombing of a civilian village by the fighter planes last week, appointing an accident that “should never happen.”

Two KF-16 “abnormal” fighter jets threw eight MK-82 bombs outside a Pocheon training range, about 40 kilometers north of Seoul, during live fire exercises on Thursday, injuring 29, including 15 civilians.

“The air force, which should protect the life and property of people, has caused damage to people,” said the head of the Air Force, Lee Young-Zu, in a press briefing. “It was an accident that should never happen and one that should not reappear.”

The chief of the General Staff of the Air Force, Lee Young-Su, issues a public excuse on an accidental bombing of a civil city in a press briefing at the Ministry of Defense in Seoul, on March 10, 2025 (Yonhap)

Lee blamed the accident, an unprecedented wrong bombing on a civilian city and promised efforts to prevent such accidents.

He also promised the greatest efforts to help the affected residents return to their daily lives and compensate them, besides providing medical and crisis support.

In an interim probe result launched on Monday, the air force reaffirmed the pilot’s error as the cause of bombing, saying that the first aircraft pilot missed at least three opportunities to prevent the accident after entering the target coordinates.

In preventive measures, the Air Force promised to strengthen the procedures to ensure cross checks to verify the target coordinates during live fire exercises and to strengthen the general safety training for all pilots.

The air force, which put on the ground almost all the aircraft after the accidental bombardment, said that it intends to resume training in phases Monday, in combination with the beginning of a common spring exercise between South Korea and the United States.

However, live fire exercises will resume only after preventive measures are established and relevant measures are completed, he added.

The chief of the General Staff of the Air Force, Lee Young-Zu, casts his head while issuing a public excuse on an accidental bombing of a civilian city in a press briefing at the Ministry of Defense in Seoul, on March 10, 2025 (Yonhap)

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