[Editorial] Shame on the military for drone infiltration

President Yoon must hold all related military officers and soldiers accountable for the ominous security breach before it’s too late.

It has been confirmed that one of the five North Korean drones infiltrated into some sections of the P-73 flight ban zone around the presidential office at Yongsan while it flew over northern Seoul for five hours on December 26. After denying the infiltration, the Joint Chiefs of Staff under the Ministry of National Defense belatedly affirmed it and reported it to President Yoon Suk Yeol on Wednesday, nine days after the penetration. We are dumbfounded.

The P-73 zone covering the airspace over the presidential office and his residence in Hannam-dong demands the highest security. Our military authorities said the North Korean drone flew back after barely “touching the edge of the zone,” but that explanation is not convincing. The infiltration of the drone into zone as close as 3 kilometers (1.86 miles) from the presidential office sounds loud alarms. The drone flew over the central Seoul, including the Namdaemun market and Chungmuro, without any constraints. If the drone did carry a remote-controlled camera, it could have taken pictures of the presidential office and residence.

On the very day of the five-drone infiltration, our military found that one of them flew in the sky over northern Seoul for about an hour. But in the tightest security space, the military could not detect the infiltration at all and reported it to the president nine days later. Who could really understand that?

After the JoongAng Ilbo on Dec. 31 first raised the possibility of the drone having advanced into the airspace near the P-73 zone, the Ministry of National Defense denied it. The ministry even expressed “regrets” after a four-star general-turned-lawmaker from the Democratic Party (DP) pointed to the likelihood of the drones penetrating the P-73 zone.

The ministry’s sudden about-face deserves criticism for the lie. We seriously question whether the military really discovered the infiltration belatedly or told the truth after lying about it for a while for fear of massive political repercussions.

The military said it will develop a system to respond to unmanned aerial vehicles by spending 560 billion won ($440.6 million). President Yoon also ordered the military to launch a multipurpose drone unit and produce stealth drones within the year. But what matters is honesty, transparency and discipline. If those critical values are not respected, the military can do nothing.

No matter how cutting-edge weapons our military has, it can never win against the enemy unless it is trusted by the people. President Yoon must hold all related military officers and soldiers accountable for the ominous security breach before it’s too late.