Seoul: The defense ministry has imposed disciplinary measures on former senior officers involved in the 2023 death of a young Marine during an operation to rescue heavy rain victims, according to officials Friday.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the military has faced criticism for the death of Cpl. Chae Su-geun in July 2023, as senior officers ordered search operations without providing life vests and other safety equipment. The ministry recently convened a disciplinary committee and dismissed Park Sang-hyun, former commander of the 7th Marine Brigade, and Choi Jin-kyu, former commander of the 11th Maritime Artillery Battalion.
The disciplinary actions come nearly three years after Chae was swept away in a swollen stream while conducting a search operation in Yecheon, approximately 160 kilometers southeast of Seoul. The ministry also demoted two other officials by one rank, who had served as the late Marine's immediate superiors.
Meanwhile, former 1st Marine Division commander Lim Seong-geun, the highest-ranking official responsible for the unit, retired in February last year without facing disciplinary action. A special counsel team on Friday requested a five-year prison sentence for Lim in an appeals trial, after a Seoul court sentenced him to three years in prison for failing to uphold safety obligations during the search operation in May.