Cracks in military's reporting, readiness and weapons management — 'We almost shot down our own drone'

South Korea's military is reeling from a string of security lapses — a frontline guard post found to have been manned without live ammunition, confusion over a US military drone, and a fatal shooting involving a Marine Corps officer. A new incident has now come to light: the Army's 1st Corps, already at the center of multiple controversies, nearly shot down one of its own drones after mistaking it for an enemy aircraft.

People Power Party lawmaker Seong Il-jong, a member of the National Assembly's National Defense Committee, said Tuesday that the 1st Corps came within moments of shooting down a friendly drone it had misidentified as an enemy aircraft. "This time it wasn't even a US military drone — it was our own, and they nearly shot it down," Seong said. "If war breaks out, will the military mistake South Korean civilians for the enemy and kill them?"

According to Seong, the Army Test and Evaluation Command notified the 1st Corps on Monday that it would conduct drone test flights and carried out the first flight that morning without incident.

When a second test flight was conducted over 1st Corps airspace that afternoon, however, the corps reportedly misidentified the drone as an enemy aircraft and began procedures to issue "Durumi" — an anti-air alert status.

"Given that the morning flight went smoothly, it appears the Army Test and Evaluation Command clearly notified the 1st Corps," Seong said. "If they still could not tell whether an afternoon flight was an enemy aircraft or a friendly drone, the military's operational system has completely broken down."

The 1st Corps is the same unit that recently misidentified a US military drone as a hostile aircraft. During a live-fire exercise involving 81mm mortars conducted jointly by South Korean and US Marines on Thursday, the US side deployed a fixed-wing reconnaissance drone as part of the combined drill. South Korean forces, unaware of the US drone's flight plan, detected it with local air defense radar and thermal observation devices and classified it as an "unidentified aerial vehicle."

A Joint Chiefs of Staff official said the incident would prompt improvements to airspace coordination procedures between the two allies. "We will use this incident as an opportunity to strengthen close communication between South Korea and the United States and improve our airspace control coordination framework," the official said.

The 1st Corps also drew criticism after issuing guidelines for frontline guard post operations that did not require soldiers to have live rounds loaded — a departure from standard practice. While loading live ammunition is the norm at forward units, the corps commander reportedly changed the alert operation guidelines at his own discretion.

A Marine Corps officer died in a firearms incident at an off-base residence in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, on Monday, and the military reportedly failed to detect that a K1-series submachine gun and live ammunition had been taken off base for more than 60 hours. The incidents have prompted sharp criticism that the military has gaping holes in its reporting chain, alert readiness and weapons management.

Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back convened an emergency meeting of senior commanders across all branches on Monday and ordered a special military discipline inspection. The Ministry of National Defense also relieved 1st Corps Commander Han Gi-seong of his duties the same day.