South Korean F-16s Just Bombed A Town By Accident

A pair of F-16 fighters operated by the Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF) accidentally bombed a civilian area during a live-fire military exercise today. The incident took place ahead of large-scale joint maneuvers with U.S. forces in South Korea, the first of their kind since U.S. President Donald Trump returned to the White House.

At 10:04 a.m. local time this morning, two ROKAF F-16s dropped eight 500-pound Mk 82 bombs, all of which detonated. The point of impact was the city of Pocheon, around 20 miles south of the heavily militarized border with North Korea and 25 miles north of the South Korean capital, Seoul.

It seems the intended target was the Seungjin Fire Training Field close to Pocheon, which today hosted a live-fire exercise involving K2 tanks, K55A1 self-propelled howitzers, AH-64 attack helicopters, and F-35A stealth fighters.

An infographic showing the approximate location of Pocheon in South Korea. Photo by Mehmet Yaren Bozgun/Anadolu via Getty Images Anadolu

“Our KF-16s abnormally dropped eight shells of Mk 82 bombs. They landed outside of the firing range,” the ROKAF said in a statement to the BBC.

KF-16 is the designation for F-16C/Ds assembled locally in South Korea but is sometimes used generically for the entire ROKAF Viper fleet. These are the most numerous fighters in the South Korean air force, with a total of 180 having been acquired in both Block 30 and Block 52 versions. Around 130 of the jets are being upgraded to F-16V standard.

ROKAF F-16s drop freefall bombs during an earlier live-fire exercise. Republic of Korea Armed Forces

Initial reports indicate that 15 people were injured in the incident. Local media say that two of those were now in a serious condition, with fractures to their necks and shoulders. According to the Yonhap news agency, a 60-year-old who had been driving at the time of the incident was left with shrapnel lodged in their neck.

There was also extensive damage to buildings in the area, including a church and houses.

“There was a sudden loud roar of a fighter jet, then an explosion rang out. When I went to the scene, there were about four houses that were halved from the damage, people hurt,” Oh Moung-su, a 65-year-old resident, told Reuters.

“Dusk and smoke rose into the sky, water gushed out of a pipe. People in a vehicle going to a construction site were injured — some of them couldn’t even get out of the car. Another was outside the car covering his eye.”

A closer view of the location of the incident in relation to the North Korean border to the north and Seoul to the south. Google Earth

At this stage, it’s unclear why the bombs were dropped here, although a Reuters report, citing the country’s military, suggests that one of the pilots entered the incorrect coordinates. It was yet to be determined why the second fighter dropped its bombs, the military said, but confirmed that all live-fire exercises had been suspended for the time being.

The ROKAF says it is investigating what happened and will pay compensation to those affected.

A bunker buster Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) is loaded onto a ROKAF F-16 during previous live-fire maneuvers. Republic of Korea Armed Forces BOHYUN PYUN

The maneuvers today occurred ahead of planned combined drills involving South Korea and the United States, known as Freedom Shield. These are the first of their kind under the new Trump administration and are due to run from March 10 to 20. South Korean military officials say today’s incident will not affect this schedule.

All of this comes at a time when South Korea and the United States are increasingly concerned about the deepening military alliance between North Korea and Russia. Against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine, North Korea has emerged as a key backer for Moscow, providing troops as well as millions of rounds of ammunition and other weaponry.

According to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), the Freedom Shield drills will reflect “lessons learned from recent armed conflicts” and North Korea’s expanding partnership with Russia.

U.S. Marines from the 3rd Marine Expeditionary force deployed from Okinawa, Japan, participate in joint combat training with South Korean soldiers in Pohang, South Korea, in 2016. Photo by Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images Chung Sung-Jun

Incidents involving live-fire exercises in South Korea are also not unheard of.

During a joint U.S.-South Korea drill in 2022, a short-range ballistic missile was launched and malfunctioned, crashing into a golf course at a military base. The warhead didn’t detonate, but there was a significant fire.

On other occasions, stray munitions have landed near civilian residences in South Korea but have rarely caused injuries.

In 2004, a ROKAF F-5B mistakenly released a practice bomb over Boryeong, 85 miles south of Seoul, but no one was harmed.

In this latest case, it is especially alarming since these were live weapons — a full 4,000 pounds nominal weight in total — that detonated in a city with a population of around 140,000. There is also the fact that this occurred in close proximity to the North Korean border. Certainly, the results could have been much worse in terms of both civilian casualties and repercussions.

While the South Korean military insists that today’s incident will not affect the Freedom Shield drills, it will undoubtedly raise questions about the relative safety of live-fire exercises on the peninsula. In that sense, the timing is especially unfortunate for Seoul, as it prepares to begin the first large-scale joint maneuvers with the U.S. military under the new Trump administration, at a time of raised tensions with the North.

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