Military reports 4 more COVID-19 cases

The South Korean military on Saturday reported four additional COVID-19 cases among its personnel, including two enlisted soldiers, bringing its total caseload to 1,485. A draftee of an Army unit in Bupyeong, just west of Seoul, contracted the virus after going on vacation to Cheongju, 120 kilometers south of the capital. He tested positive even though he got two shots of Pfizer's vaccine. A conscript of a Navy unit in Jinhae in the southeastern city of Changwon also tested positive. The late

July 24, 2021

Seamen from COVID-hit warship blame food supplies

Seamen on South Korea’s unvaccinated anti-piracy mission who returned home from Africa this week because of a massive COVID outbreak aboard their warship said Friday that the coronavirus could have spread onto the vessel from food supplies they loaded from a nearby port. A seaman from the 301-strong Cheonghae Unit, which arrived here Tuesday with more than two-thirds of its crew infected, exhibited cold symptoms on July 2, a day after the destroyer made a four-day supply stop at a port. M

July 23, 2021

Inspection into COVID-hit warship brings doubt

The military’s decision to launch an inspection into the COVID-19 outbreak that forced its anti-piracy unit to return home from Africa has sparked concerns, as the military plans to run the examination itself without outside experts that critics say are needed for an independent inquiry. The Cheonghae Unit, which cut short its mission, was found to have been sidelined from the vaccine priority list. It was left out from the March vaccination campaign because of supply constraints; it

July 23, 2021

3 more newly enlisted soldiers at boot camp test positive for virus

Three more newly enlisted soldiers at an Army boot camp have tested positive for the new coronavirus, bringing the total caseload recently reported at the base to 122, the defense ministry said Friday. The soldiers at the Korea Army Training Center in the central city of Nonsan were confirmed to have contracted COVID-19 while in quarantine following the mass outbreak at the base earlier this month, according to the ministry. In Jinhae, some 410 kilometers southeast of Seoul, a Navy officer was

July 23, 2021

6 USFK-affiliated individuals test positive for COVID-19

Five American service members and a civilian worker for the US military in South Korea tested positive for the new coronavirus upon arrival here from the United States, US Forces Korea (USFK) has said. One of the service members arrived at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, 70 kilometers south of Seoul, on a US government chartered flight, and four service members and a civilian affiliated with the US Department of Defense arrived on international commercial flights at Incheon International Airport,

July 23, 2021

Ministry launches inspection into COVID-hit warship

The Ministry of National Defense has launched a sweeping inspection into the massive COVID-19 outbreak that forced its unvaccinated anti-piracy unit to return home five months after departing for Africa, military officials said Thursday. The inspection comes amid mounting calls for Defense Minister Suh Wook to step down to take responsibility for an aborted overseas mission, a first for the military, which airlifted the 301-strong Cheonghae Unit on Tuesday. More than two-thirds of the cre

July 22, 2021

Military reports 4 more COVID-19 cases, including one from Cheonghae unit

An additional sailor of the virus-stricken Cheonghae anti-piracy unit and three Army members have tested positive for the coronavirus, the defense ministry said Thursday. The sailor has been in isolation since returning home Tuesday from Africa due to the mass outbreak in the unit. He previously tested negative but developed symptoms consistent with COVID-19 on Wednesday and underwent another round of tests, which found him to be infected, according to the ministry. As of Thursday, the total c

July 22, 2021

Defense ministry launches audit on Cheonghae unit's mass COVID-19 outbreak

The defense ministry on Thursday began an inspection into the mass coronavirus outbreak at the country's anti-piracy Cheonghae unit that infected 90 percent of its 301 members, forcing them to cut short their mission in waters off Africa and return home, officials said. A 10-member team from the ministry's inspector office will look into whether the military -- including the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Navy, the Armed Forces Medical Command, the Cheonghae unit and related ministry bureaus -- pro

July 22, 2021

Anti-piracy omitted from vaccination plan

Military and health authorities had not looked to vaccinate the country’s anti-piracy warship off the coast of Africa, despite opportunities along the way. So when the COVID-19-hit unit returned home Tuesday, it was the first time the military had cut an overseas mission short. The military, which has said the seamen could not get COVID shots because they had little expertise in handling a possible allergic reaction to the vaccine or the ability to manage extreme storage conditions f

July 21, 2021

Military reports 3 more COVID-19 cases

Two Army officers and an enlisted soldier have tested positive for the new coronavirus, the defense ministry said Wednesday, the latest in a series of COVID-19 infections among the military population. The officers, stationed in the northern city of Yangju and the eastern port city of Samcheok, respectively, were confirmed to have been infected after their family members tested positive earlier, according to the ministry. The soldier in Seoul contracted the virus while on vacation, it added.

July 21, 2021

Virus-hit Cheonghae unit arrives home on aerial tanker

 Members of South Korea‘s virus-hit Cheonghae naval unit returned home from Africa on Tuesday, the defense ministry said, after cutting short their anti-piracy mission following an unprecedented mass outbreak that infected 247, or 82 percent, of the 301-member unit. 　One of two KC-330 Cygnus multirole aircraft dispatched to airlift all of the troops returned to an air base south of Seoul at 5:30 p.m., carrying 160 infected members, including 16 who had been treated at local hospi

July 20, 2021

Assault rifle project suspended over potential security breach

South Korea’s arms procurement agency recently suspended its project to replace the K1A assault rifle for special forces after it found the defense firm contracted for the job had unauthorized access beforehand to the type of weapons the agency was planning to develop.  The K1A uses rifle ammunition but is classified as a submachine gun by the military. “Nothing, really, has been decided on what to do with the project yet … we’ll have to see how the trial unf

July 20, 2021

Defense chief apologizes for worst COVID outbreak aboard ship

Poor decision-making was behind the failure to vaccinate the 301-strong crew on an anti-piracy ship before they left for Africa, Defense Minister Suh Wook said as he apologized Tuesday for a huge COVID outbreak aboard the 4,400-ton destroyer Munmu the Great. Suh was facing criticism over the outbreak that forced the military to cut short its overseas mission for the first time. The military said the seamen could not get COVID shots because they had little expertise in handling a possible allerg

July 20, 2021

Defense chief apologizes over mass COVID-19 outbreak among Cheonghae unit members

Defense Minister Suh Wook apologized Tuesday for the military's failure to prevent cluster COVID-19 infections among sailors of the Cheonghae naval unit on an anti-piracy mission in waters off Africa. The apology came a day after virus tests showed that 247, or 82 percent, of the 301-member unit were infected, the worst-ever infection cluster among service members blamed on poor initial responses, such as giving only cold medicine to a sailor who first developed symptoms. The defense ministry

July 20, 2021

2 more newly enlisted soldiers at boot camp test positive for virus

Two more newly enlisted soldiers at an Army boot camp have tested positive for the coronavirus, bringing the total caseload at the base to 119, the defense ministry said Tuesday. The enlistees at the Korea Army Training Center in the central city of Nonsan were confirmed to have been infected while in isolation, following the mass COVID-19 outbreak at the base earlier this month, according to the ministry. In addition, one officer stationed in the central city of Sejong also tested positive fo

July 20, 2021

23 USFK-affiliated individuals test positive for virus

Twenty-three people affiliated with US Forces Korea (USFK), including 18 service members, have tested positive for the new coronavirus, the US military has said, amid the fourth wave of the pandemic across the country. Of them, 11 service members were from Kunsan Air Base in the western city of Gunsan. They were confirmed to have contracted COVID-19 after showing symptoms or coming into contact with the infected individuals, according to USFK in a release Monday. At Camp Casey in Dongducheon,

July 20, 2021

Mass infection during military mission draws criticism

The Korean military is facing mounting criticism after more than 80 percent of the 301-strong Cheonghae unit tested positive for the coronavirus while carrying out anti-piracy operations in the waters off Africa. “The (COVID-19) test results on all 301 crew members of the unit showed that 247 tested positive and 50 negative. The samples of four individuals were undecipherable,” the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Monday. The government sent two KC-330 tanker transport planes to bring

July 19, 2021

Military begins providing 2nd COVID-19 vaccine shots to troops over 30

The military on Monday began administering the second doses of Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine to troops aged 30 and over, the defense ministry said. About 116,900 troops, or 88 percent of the age group, who have received their first shots are subject to the inoculation, according to the ministry. The military provided AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine for their first shots in April and May but the second doses will be Pfizer's after health authorities decided earlier this month to administer AstraZ

July 19, 2021

[Newsmaker] Outbreak forces anti-piracy unit to return home from African coast

South Korea’s anti-piracy Cheonghae Unit is returning home this week after 68 seamen tested positive for the coronavirus aboard a warship off the coast of Africa, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Sunday. Two-thirds of the 301-strong crew are still awaiting test results. This is the first time the military has cut short an overseas mission because of a pandemic. None of the seamen had received any COVID-19 vaccinations because the March vaccination campaign began a month after their dep

July 18, 2021

4 more newly enlisted soldiers at boot camp test positive for virus

Four more newly enlisted soldiers at an Army boot camp have tested positive for the new coronavirus, bringing the total number of infections recently reported at the base to 117. The enlistees at the Korea Army Training Center in the central city of Nonsan were confirmed to have contracted COVID-19 while in quarantine following the mass infection outbreak at the base last week, according to the ministry. The Army also reported four additional infections from the southwestern city of Iksan, the

July 16, 2021