At around 8:51 am on the 19th, the Marine Corps search team to which Chae Sang-byeong belongs is searching in the river near Bomun Bridge. yunhap news
It has been argued that the fact that a life jacket was not provided to the late Corporal Chae Su-geun, who died while searching for a missing person in Yecheon, Gyeongsangbuk-do, was caused by the division commander’s order to ‘show off that he is a Marine Corps’.
According to a JTBC report on the 24th, a notice came down the day before the search for the missing person, saying, ‘The division commander will come out with a field map and check the clothes’. The announcement only emphasized the uniformity of the uniform, omitting matters related to safety such as life jackets.
Officer A, who is working for the 1st Marine Division, listed several instructions from the division commander, saying, “After the 1st Division visited the site during the damage recovery period, an order was given regarding ‘unsatisfactory issues’.”
Guidelines announced by the division commander’s visit during the search for missing persons in Yecheon, Gyeongsangbuk-do. Photo = online community capture
The instructions are △Insufficient description of operation operations in the area of responsibility, which is insufficient for being a soldier △Insufficient attire, preferably wearing a red t-shirt so that you can stand out as a ‘Marine Corps’ △In particular, the artillery unit (a unit affiliated with Chae Sang-byeong) said that the salute was insufficient, and ‘the unit commander should direct the field correctly’.
The guideline emphasized the rules for the attire, saying, ‘The division commander’s emphasis’, ‘Bottom combat uniform, top red Marine Corps gym uniform, reconnaissance cap’. It was also written in detail that gym caps and combat shirts are not allowed, and that a uniform check is expected during field guidance by the division commander. However, there was no instruction on life jackets or safety equipment anywhere.
It is pointed out that the command of the division commander emphasized only wearing the ‘red tee’, the symbolic color of the Marine Corps, during the search process, and even if they knew the necessity of the life jacket, they did not bother to wear the life jacket for fear of covering the red tee.
It is said that the Marine Corps does not even have specific guidelines for wearing life jackets.
Choi Yong-seon, director of public information at the Marine Corps, said at a regular briefing at the Ministry of National Defense on the 24th, “There is no specific manual for each form of public support, such as wearing life jackets during operations to search for missing persons in waterside areas.”
In response to a question about whether the Marine Corps encouraged the search for missing persons with a reward vacation, he said, “The 14-night and 15-day reward vacation is not for encouragement, but the vacation period was granted because it was judged that the soldier who found the body needed psychological stability.”
The Marine Corps also denied the claim that the corporal’s colleagues were restricted from going out and visiting them on the weekend, saying, “It was confirmed that there were three people who went out over the weekend.”
On the other hand, Corporal Chae was swept away by a rapid current while carrying out a search mission for missing persons without a life jacket at Bomun Bridge, Naeseong Stream, Yecheon County, around 9:00 am on the 19th.
At the time of the accident, there were 39 Marines who started searching near Bomun Bridge. Corporal Chae and two of his comrades were said to have been swept away by the rapids as the ground beneath their feet collapsed in the water. His comrades swam away, but Corporal Chae was washed away in the rapids.
2023-07-25 08:10:40
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