Conservative opposition figures escalated their attacks on the 24th over the government's and military's decision to postpone an on-site investigation into a suspected landmine explosion in the Demilitarized Zone on the western front until after the Chuseok holiday.
Jang Dong-hyuk, leader of the People Power Party, wrote on Facebook that day that "President Lee Jae-myung's entire response was a four-paragraph social media post right after the accident," adding that "with the president acting like this, the military's conduct is even more pathetic." He went on to say the military plans to conduct the on-site investigation only after the Chuseok holiday, asking whether the aim was "to give North Korean troops time to destroy evidence." He said he wondered whether officials were hoping rain would wash the evidence away.
Jang claimed the Ministry of National Defense has refused to accept the People Power Party's proposed visit to the accident site, saying that "if the on-site investigation was deliberately delayed, it is clearly an act of aiding the enemy." He added that "if it was done on the president's orders, there could be no clearer grounds for impeachment."
Party spokesperson Cho Yong-sul said that "even though the possibility of North Korean involvement is being strongly raised, the Lee Jae-myung administration is taking no commensurate action," calling for the cause of the accident to be determined and for a responsible response. Another spokesperson, Ham In-kyung, demanded an immediate investigation, asking, "If rain falls and evidence is damaged while the on-site investigation is delayed, who will take responsibility?"
Independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon joined in as well. He said the government has indicated it will investigate the circumstances "after the Chuseok holiday," arguing that "it is already too late. It must be done immediately." He added, "If North Korean troops invade during the Chuseok holiday, are we going to start fighting only after the holiday ends?" He also asked, "Rain is forecast — if the evidence is lost, will you take responsibility?"
The accident occurred on the 21st while soldiers from the Army's 25th Division were clearing a new search route inside the DMZ. Two explosions went off at the time, injuring three officers and noncommissioned officers, two of them seriously. The operation was preliminary work to support a planned on-site investigation by the United Nations Command after the military identified terrain changes near the Military Demarcation Line (MDL).
The Joint Chiefs of Staff has formed a separate investigation team and is analyzing statements from the soldiers deployed in the operation, command communications records and body camera footage. The blast site, however, has been found to be several dozen meters away from an area where North Korean troops are presumed to have laid mines, and the military is investigating with all possibilities open, including deliberate emplacement by North Korean forces, mines washed down from North Korean territory and displacement of mines laid in the past.
