Flights Canceled After Drinking... It Was Air Force Chief's Order

[Anchor]

We previously reported that Air Force pilots engaged in drinking and entertainment at gatherings hosted by generals, leading to the cancellation of flights scheduled for the following day. An SBS investigation has now confirmed that the figure who presided over these communication meetings across all Air Force wings and ordered the flight cancellations after drinking was Air Force Chief of Staff General Son Seok-rak.

Defense correspondent Kim Taehun reports.

[Reporter]

Starting with an accidental bombing by a fighter jet in March of last year, followed by dropped fuel tanks, takeoff failures, and mid-air collisions, a string of aircraft accidents has brought pilot discipline under intense scrutiny.

The method chosen by the Air Force Headquarters to boost pilot morale was drinking and entertainment.

In April and May, the Air Force leadership toured all 13 wings to host communication meetings, and Chief of Staff Son personally presided over gatherings at six of those wings.

An active-duty pilot who attended one of the meetings hosted by the chief of staff told SBS, "When the chief of staff encouraged drinking, asking, 'You don't need to fly tomorrow, right?' the pilots cheered and drank."

Another pilot said, "Word quickly spread that flight missions were being canceled after drinking, so pilots drank freely at every wing meeting."

In response to inquiries from SBS, the Air Force Headquarters admitted that flight missions were indeed canceled following drinking sessions at the meetings, under the direct orders of the chief of staff.

The Air Force Headquarters explained, "Out of the six wing meetings presided over by the chief of staff, flight missions were canceled after drinking on three occasions, and one other mission was canceled the following day due to weather conditions."

In a statement sent to SBS, Chief of Staff Son stated, "I ordered the cancellation of flight training out of a desire to encourage pilots and allow them to take part in the meetings comfortably without flight stress, even for a single day," adding, "I deeply apologize for causing public concern over this matter."

Video by Kim Hyun-sang | Video editing by Jung Sung-hoon | Graphics by Jeon Yu-geun
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.