Two South Korean air force commanders fired after mistaken bombing

Accordingly, in a statement sent to reporters, the South Korean military announced: "The air force has dismissed a colonel-level commander and a lieutenant colonel-level squadron commander for violating their duty to comply with regulations."

The decision stated that the reason for the dismissal of the above commanders was due to their serious lack of responsibility, as well as shortcomings in management and command supervision.

In addition, the air force said it planned to hold a meeting next week to consider whether the two pilots - who were flying the two fighter jets that mistakenly bombed - are fit to continue operating the aircraft.

On March 10, the South Korean Air Force 3 released a preliminary investigation report into the incident where a fighter jet mistakenly dropped a bomb on a village last week. The report said pilot error was the main cause of the incident.

During the exercise on March 6, two KF-16 fighter jets dropped eight MK-82 bombs outside the training ground in Pocheon, about 40 km north of Seoul, injuring 31 people, including 19 civilians. The South Korean Air Force at the time announced that the error in dropping the bombs was due to the pilot of the first plane entering the wrong target coordinates before takeoff.

However, in a recently released report, the South Korean Air Force said that during the preparation process, the target coordinates were incorrectly entered when the pilot of the first aircraft read them to the second pilot to enter into the computer system. It is not clear whether the coordinates were misread or misheard, but the Air Force said there were at least three attempts to detect the error and avoid dropping the bomb by mistake.

In a statement, the South Korean Air Force noted that the pilot of the first aircraft should have checked the target at least three times during the mission, but did not. After takeoff, the pilot noticed that the flight path was slightly different from the training course, but did not verify the coordinates and continued bombing to ensure the target timing. Meanwhile, the second pilot entered the correct coordinates into his aircraft but bombed under the command of the first aircraft, as the training was designed as a simultaneous attack exercise.

The air force blamed the accident on a lack of proper management and inspection procedures, and a failure by superiors to provide specific instructions to the pilot. In addition, the ground forces gave final approval for the bombing after the pilot reported that he had visually confirmed the target, even though he had not done so due to time constraints.

To prevent a recurrence, the ROK Air Force has pledged to strengthen procedures for confirming target coordinates during live-fire exercises and improve the overall reporting system for abnormal situations. It will also announce plans to strengthen mission inspections and live-fire exercise safety training for all pilots.

After the bombing incident, South Korean Air Force Chief of Staff Lee Young-su publicly apologized to the public, calling the incident "not supposed to happen." The South Korean Defense Ministry announced that it would conduct its own investigation into the incident. Meanwhile, the two pilots and others involved in the training have been temporarily suspended and are at risk of facing criminal charges.

Flight training will resume in phases from March 10, but live-fire exercises will only resume after implementing and completing preventive measures and other related measures, the South Korean Air Force said in a statement.