Virus-hit Cheonghae unit arrives home

Jul 21, 2021, 09:03 am

		0
Defense Minister Suh Wook and other military officials welcome a KC-330 multirole aerial tanker that arrived at an air base in Seongnam, south of Seoul, on July 20, 2021, carrying members of the Cheonghae unit, where hundreds of sailors tested positive for the COVID-19./ Source: Ministry of National Defense

AsiaToday reporter Lee Seok-jong

All crew members of South Korea’s virus-hit Cheonghae naval unit returned home from Africa on Tuesday on KC-330 Cygnus multirole tanker airplanes after cutting short their overseas mission following a mass COVID-19 outbreak.

This is the first time that all the members of an overseas contingent have abandoned their mission and returned home due to an infectious disease. President Moon Jae-in said it is hard for the government to avoid criticism that its relevant measures were insufficient. The main opposition People Power Party (PPP) has urged the president to dismiss Defense Minister Suh Wook over the Cheonghae unit’s COVID-19 outbreak. In response, the defense minister issued an apology, saying he feels a “heavy responsibility.”

The two KC-330 Cygnus multirole aircraft returned to an air base south of Seoul around 6 p.m., carrying 301 members of the anti-piracy Cheonghae unit.

Immediately after the arrival, the soldiers were sent to military hospitals and treatment centers where they were to undergo another round of virus tests.

A total of 247 sailors of the 301-strong Cheonghae unit have tested positive for the virus while 50 have tested negative. Samples of four individuals were undecipherable.

Twelve of the 301 who were in serious condition were sent to two military hospitals.

Fifty members who tested negative in the local PCR tests were also quarantined in a single room at the National Defense Language Institute. The Ministry of National Defense plans to quarantine the crew members who tested negative for a certain period of time at the state-run Jinhae naval facility.

Earlier, Defense Minister Suh Wook apologized for the military’s failure to protect service members overseas. “I feel a heavy responsibility as defense minister for failing to more carefully take care of Cheonghae unit members, who have devoted themselves to the nation and the people out at sea, resulting in many being infected,” Suh said during a press briefing at the Defense Ministry in Yongsan District on Tuesday morning. “I deeply apologize to the Cheonghae unit soldiers, family members and the public,” he said.

“We have been actively pushing for vaccination of all soldiers, including troops who are dispatched overseas, but there was a lack of effort to vaccinate troops in the Cheonghae unit who departed in February,” Suh said.

“We will examine the problems of the quarantine measures of units dispatched overseas and thoroughly implement follow-up measures so that all service members, including those dispatched overseas, can perform duties more safely and healthily,” the minister said. “We will do our best to support the Cheonghae unit members so that they can recover their health at designated hospitals and treatment centers,” he added.

The briefing session was attended by Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) Chairman Won In-choul and Vice Defense Minister Park Jae-min.

The apology issued by Suh is his sixth since assuming the post of defense minister. Following a series of controversies related to the military, the main opposition PPP has demanded to dismiss the defense minister.

#Cheonghae unit #COVID-19 #Suh Wook #Defense Ministry