Eight bombs were dropped on the village of Nogok March 6, destroying the church of the military ordinariate’s Seungjin parish.
At least 29 people were injured in the accident, dubbed “unthinkable” by the village’s mayor Baek Young-hyun, who likened the devastation to “an actual battlefield.”
No fatalities have been reported.
The bombing was reportedly caused by what the South Korean defense authorities termed an “abnormal release,” when a fighter pilot in the South Korean Air Force accidentally entered the wrong coordinates for the release of the munitions, which were meant to fall on a live-fire range five miles away.
Security camera footage shows a blast just outside the parish church, which is under the jurisdiction of the Military Ordinariate of Korea.
According to local news reports, both the parish pastor and a military chaplain assigned to the church were transferred to the Armed Forces Capital Hospital immediately after the accident and are now receiving treatment.
The church building and attached “fellowship room” sustained major damage to their roof, exterior walls, and entrance.
Bishop Tito Seo Sang-Beom of the military ordinariate is expected to visit the site, the ordinariate said in a statement.
The detonation of the MK-82 ordinance, which is used for the destruction of infrastructure targets like buildings, roads, and bridges, created a crater more than 25 feet wide and more than 8 feet deep at the point of impact, just in front of the church building.
In addition to the priest and the military chaplain — who does not appear to be himself a cleric — at least other two soldiers are reported to be among the injured.
“We deeply regret the unintended release of the bombs, which resulted in civilian casualties, and wish those injured a swift recovery,” the South Korean Air Force said in a statement.
Nogok is located only 20 miles from the North Korean border, in an area of regular military activity. The bombs were dropped during a live-fire exercise and intended to strike ground on the nearby Seungjin training ground.
According to reports, the bombs were released from two KF-16 fighter jets after one of the pilots entered the wrong target coordinates before take off. There is not yet explanation for how the second jet also came to bomb the same wrong target, or why the pilots did not visually confirm they were over a civilian population center at the time of release.
The annual joint operation, named Freedom Shield, is conducted by U.S. and South Korean forces over an 11 day period.
Pocheon’s mayor, Baek Young-hyun, told press that the “unthinkable had happened” and that the site of the blast “is absolute chaos and looks like an actual battlefield.”
“I ask the government and military authorities to completely halt all military exercises from now on until they come up with measures that could reassure the people of Pocheon,” he said.
Operation Freedom Shield suspended live fire exercises after the bombing.