[사설] Cheonan incident re-investigation process, be transparent

The government’s process of handling a complaint regarding the re-investigation of the Cheonan bombing case is full of suspicion. On the 2nd, the Presidential Commission on the Investigation of Military Net Accidents (Correspondence Committee) finally dismissed Mr. Shin Sang-cheol’s petition for re-investigation of the Cheonan case. However, the Census Committee notified the Ministry of National Defense that Shin’s complaint filed in September last year was re-examined only in December, but this time it overturned and dismissed it. The problem is that the Ministry of National Defense and the Blue House concealed for more than three months before the process of handling important matters, such as the Cheonan bombing, was disclosed by the JoongAng Ilbo report. It did not even inform the surviving family members of the Cheonan ships. When the decision to re-investigate the Criminal Committee was announced later, the surviving family members and surviving soldiers rebelled greatly. Former captain Choi Won-il of the Cheonan also made a protest visit to the Census Committee and the Ministry of Defense.

The’Cheonan attack’ is a North Korean provocation in which the Cheonan was sunk by a torpedo shot by a North Korean submarine that infiltrated the waters near Baengnyeong Island on the night of March 26, 2010. The Cheonan ship was split into two due to the phenomenon of a’bubble jet’ caused by a North Korean torpedo exploding in the water. Among the soldiers in the trap, 46 were killed. The Cheonan, which was damaged at that time, is on display at the 2nd Fleet Command in Pyeongtaek. Looking at the destruction section of the Cheonan, the frame of the ship is vertically bent toward the sky due to the powerful explosive power generated under the sea.

As Shin claimed, there is no evidence that the Cheonan was stranded on the reef or collided with a US submarine. There are no traces of hitting the reef and digging deep under the trap. In addition, a US Navy submarine weighing 7,000 to 8000 tons cannot go to the shallow sea where the Cheonan bombing incident occurred. There is no part of the Cheonan (1220t) that was pitted by a submarine. The first and second trial courts against Shin, who was prosecuted for claiming the Cheonan ship’s grounding rumors, have already concluded that “the grounding theory is unfounded.”

The key point is that the Cheonan ship was not hit by a North Korean torpedo. It’s like giving indulgence to North Korean provocations. It denies that all military announcements that the Cheonan was hit by a North Korean torpedo were false. Nevertheless, I cannot understand the background in which the Commission accepted Shin’s fact-finding request without dismissing it from the beginning. It can only be regarded as being dismissed again when public opinion deteriorated due to media reports after the investigation committee tried to secretly investigate this for several months. The defense ministry’s attitude that Shin’s complaint has not been reported is dishonest.

How can the people trust the Blue House and the Department of Defense, which accept or deny Shin’s absurd claims according to the current trends? Can the government improve normal inter-Korean relations, which does not have the ability to seriously weigh North Korea’s provocations such as the Cheonan attack? The Blue House and the Ministry of Defense must disclose the process of handling this complaint to the public and prevent this from happening again. First of all, apologize seriously to the survivors and survivors of the Cheonan ships who are still suffering from mental sequelae.