hankyoreh

The sinking of the Cheonan resulted in 46 sailors needlessly losing their lives. Oddly, no military commander has taken responsibility for this incident.
At a recent meeting of the committee to review suitability for service, the military quietly granted a “suitable” ruling for Admiral Kim Dong-sik, who was commander of the Navy’s Second Fleet to which the Cheonan was assigned. Kim, who has already transferred to a position as policy research officer for the naval forces analysis and evaluation group, went so far as to contest the three-month suspension he received, filing an administrative court suit requesting a cancellation of the disciplinary measures. Commander Choi Won-il, who was captain of the Cheonan, has been working at Navy headquarters since receiving suspended disciplinary measures. His superior, Captain Jeon Dae-jang, has been working at the Jinhae Naval Base Command since receiving light disciplinary action. The entire command line was preserved. And these individuals, along with the other admirals and field officer commanders who received disciplinary measures, are all contesting the grounds for the disciplinary action.
These actions are incomprehensible. Did the commanders perform their duties so correctly at the time of the incident that they cannot even accept disciplinary measures at the level of a reprimand and salary cut? Does this mean all the responsibility for the sinking of the vessel and the deaths of the sailors lies with individuals among the deceased? Was it an unavoidable situation that the South Korean armed forces was utterly incapable of preventing? There are reportedly a number of surviving family members of the victims who raged after seeing the measures. “Is this really true?” they asked. “Can this possibly be true?” After generating major distrust with its dubious response at the time of the incident, the military is now persisting in evading responsibility with its resolution. The situation is an outrage.
Previously, the Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) concluded that 25 commanders did not undertake proper combat preparations or response measures in connection with the Cheonan’s sinking. In a November 2010 meeting, the military’s disciplinary committee accordingly handed down a three-month suspension to one person, salary cuts and reprimands to five admirals, and probation or reprimands against four field officers. It is unacceptable for the military to buy time for itself, then handle matters according to its own determination. It is also nearly laughable to see Admiral Kim, who had been commander of the Second Fleet, being given the position of policy research officer with the naval forces analysis and evaluation group, whose director is a rear admiral. Such measures have prompted observers to suggest there may have been some collusion between those who were disciplined and those who were not over some other secret that would benefit neither side if revealed to the outside.
Indeed, there are still a number of observers both within and outside South Korea would distrust the authorities’ announcements about the Cheonan incident. We hope that they do not find themselves in a worse position after breeding suspicions with an indecisive resolution where no one takes any responsibility.
　　
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