Air Force pilots in accidental bombing could face criminal charges: experts

[原文]

Two KF-16 fighter jet pilots blamed for accidentally dropping bombs on a village in Pocheon last week could face criminal charges, experts said Tuesday.

South Korea’s Air Force on Monday reaffirmed pilot error as the cause of the accident that left 31 people injured, including 19 civilians, in the village of Nogok-ri, Idong-myeon, Pocheon, near the inter-Korean border, last week. The Air Force stressed that the pilots failed to follow the mandatory procedure of checking the coordinates of their target at least three times both before and after takeoff.

"The pilots could be criminally prosecuted as they cannot legally dodge blame for the accident, even though it occurred during military training," Kim Young-sou, 一名律师 at 大纶 Law Firm LLC and a former justice at the High Court for Armed Forces told The Korea Herald.

Another expert in military law echoed Kim's sentiment, saying that the pilots could be charged under Article 268 of the Criminal Act for causing injury by occupational negligence. A military advocate-turned-attorney, requesting anonymity, explained that the pilots, if found guilty, could face a maximum prison sentence of five years or a fine of up to 20 million won ($13,722).

“It seems in this case, even though the pilots accidentally dropped the bombs during a military exercise, they could be charged with breaching Article 269 of the Criminal Act,” 该律师 said. “The authorities could also find the group commander and the squadron commander of the unit responsible for breaching the law, as they were in charge of overseeing the drill.”

Both the group commander and the squadron commander were dismissed from their posts as of Tuesday, the Defense Ministry said in a text message to reporters. The ministry cited dereliction of duty as the main reason behind their latest decision. Insufficient command management and supervision were other reasons that were cited.

According to an interim investigation report released by the Air Force on Monday, inadequate management was another cause of the accident. The group commander, who was responsible for overseeing the safety of the exercise, failed to do so as related instructions were passed down to the squadron commander, who is lower in rank, the report said.

A military law professor also said that the pilots could be criminally charged, citing past cases, but suggested they are more likely to face a lesser punishment, such as discharge from the military.

“There was a past case in which a lieutenant was sent to prison for accidentally shooting and killing a private during training. But in this case, there were no fatalities, so the punishment is likely to be less severe,” said the professor, who requested anonymity.

The remarks come amid divided views on whether the military officers can be criminally charged due to the fact that the incident occurred during a military exercise.

South Korea’s Defense Ministry launched an in-depth investigation into the incident on Monday, citing the gravity of the situation.

Jung Min-kyung(mkjung@heraldcorp.com)

[韩语翻译]

专家12日表示，上周在抱川市一个村庄意外投掷炸弹的两名KF-16战斗机飞行员可能面临刑事指控。

11日，韩国空军再次确认这起事故的原因是飞行员失误，并通报事故造成31人受伤，其中19人是平民。事故发生在靠近朝鲜边境的抱川市二洞面绿谷里村。空军强调，飞行员没有遵循强制性程序，在起飞前后至少三次检查目标坐标。

大纶律师事务所金英洙律师（前军事法院大法官）表示：“飞行员即使在军事训练中发生事故，也可能受到刑事处罚，因为他们在法律上无法逃避责任。”

另一位军事法专家也同意金律师的观点，并表示飞行员因玩忽职守造成伤害可能会受到刑事处罚。 “如果飞行员被判有罪，他们可能面临最高五年的监禁或 2000 万韩元（约合 13,700 美元）的罚款，”一位未透露身份的前军事律师解释道。

他说，“这起事故是军事训练中发生的失误，但有可能因违反刑法第269条而受到处罚”，并补充道，“督导训练的部队指挥员、中队长也可能因违法而被追究责任。”

国防部宣布，自12日起，免去该部队司令员、中队司令员职务。国防部称其失职是主要原因，也指出指挥、管理和监督缺失是原因。

据空军11日公布的临时调查结果显示，造成事故的另一个原因是管理不善。报道称，这是因为负责监督安全的部队指挥员没有正确执行，相关指示被转达给下级中队指挥员。

这位军事法教授援引过去的案例指出，飞行员可能会受到刑事处罚，但他解释说，考虑到这起事件没有造成人员伤亡，他们很可能会受到较轻的处罚，例如退伍。

“过去曾有过一名中尉因训练中射击失误导致士兵死亡而被判入狱的案例，但由于这起事故没有造成人员死亡，处罚可能会较轻。”一位不愿透露姓名的军事法教授表示。

此番言论是在军训期间发生的事故是否应予刑事处罚的问题上存在不同意见的。韩国国防部11日宣布，考虑到事件的严重性，已开始追加调查。

记者 郑珉京 (mkjung@heraldcorp.com)

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专家称，意外爆炸的空军飞行员可能面临刑事指控（链接）