The incident occurred on 16/3 near a playground in Daegu, a southern city, injuring an elementary school student. "A bullet fragment was found in the child's wound during hospital treatment", a military official said.
The girl was later discharged from the hospital, as her injuries were not life-threatening.
Following the incident, the military has suspended all infantry shooting drills. Bae Seok-jin, head of the press office for the Ministry of National Defense of South Korea, announced this at a press briefing on 17/3.
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South Korean soldiers train at the Paju firing range, Gyeonggi province in 2024. Photo: South Korean military |
The South Korean military has also launched an investigation to determine the cause of the incident. Bae confirmed that a live-fire exercise was taking place at a firing range approximately 1,4 km from the playground when the girl was hit.
This is not the first instance of stray bullets from South Korean military firing ranges injuring civilians in surrounding areas.
In 2020, a female golf course worker collapsed after being hit by a stray bullet from a nearby firing range in South Jeolla province. She was rushed to the hospital and survived surgery. Last year, two South Korean fighter jets accidentally dropped 8 bombs on a village near the North Korean border during a joint exercise with US forces, injuring nearly 30 people.
By Huyen Le (AFP, Yonhap)
