Police Receive Complaints Against President and Military Leadership Over 'DMZ Landmine Explosion Incident'

Concerns Raised Over Delay in Military Investigation and Risk of Evidence Loss
Complaints Filed Alleging Neglect of North Korean Landmine Planting Suspicions

Complaints have been filed with the police against the President and military leadership in connection with the suspected landmine explosion incident in the Western Front Demilitarized Zone (DMZ).

On September 27, former Seoul Metropolitan Council member Lee Jong-bae of the People Power Party filed charges with the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency against Minister of National Defense Kang Shinchul, accusing him of dereliction of duty, abuse of authority, and destruction of evidence.

Lee stated, "The military authorities have postponed the site investigation to after the Chuseok holiday without any basis and even rejected the United Nations (UN) Command's immediate investigation proposal." He argued, "Delaying the investigation despite knowing the possibility of evidence being damaged due to heavy rain constitutes dereliction of duty."

He continued, "Even considering the shock experienced by the soldiers, the authorities should have actively sought alternatives, such as deploying specialized personnel to reconstruct the movement routes and explosion points, and secure safe access routes."

The civic group Citizens' Committee for Public Livelihood Measures (referred to as Seominwi) also filed a complaint on the previous day with the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, accusing President Lee Jaemyung, National Security Office Chief Wi Sung-rak, former Minister of National Defense Ahn Kyubaek, current Minister Kang Shinchul, and six others—a total of nine people—of abuse of authority, dereliction of duty, and aiding the enemy.

In its complaint, Seominwi claimed that the military did not respond actively to the North Korean military's alleged violation of the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) and landmine deployment in June. The civic group stated, "By failing to fulfill the responsibility as military commander-in-chief, they led to an incident in which soldiers were injured in the explosion," and added that the National Security Office Chief, as well as former and current defense ministers, condoned this situation.

This accident occurred at approximately 10:50 a.m. on September 21 in an area adjacent to the Military Demarcation Line in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, under the jurisdiction of the Army's 25th Division, during a route-clearing operation. There were two explosions suspected to have been caused by landmines, resulting in serious injuries to two soldiers—including the reconnaissance battalion commander—and minor injuries to one other soldier.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.