Rep. Hong Gi-won Urges Foreign Ministry to Establish Information-Sharing System Over U.S. Military Base Incident

Rep. Hong Gi-won (Democratic Party, Pyeongtaek City District A, Gyeonggi Province) urged the Foreign Ministry on the 19th to establish an information-sharing system during a full meeting of the Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee, pointing to a suspected white phosphorus leak incident that occurred at K-55 U.S. Military Base in Pyeongtaek (Osan Air Base) last month.

On July 28, white phosphorus-suspected residue was discovered during ammunition inspection at Osan Air Base, prompting Pyeongtaek City to issue an evacuation order to residents. However, it was revealed that the relevant local government did not receive accurate information until the end of the incident.

Nine days later, U.S. Forces Korea announced that the substance was not white phosphorus but a harmless corrosive material.

Rep. Hong stated, "If an incident requires resident evacuation, accurate information sharing is a given." The Foreign Ministry responded, "We will review improvement measures and report back."

In relation to this, it is known that efforts are underway to establish a system for swiftly and accurately sharing relevant information with nearby local governments when incidents occur at U.S. military bases.

전시언 기자 yourside@news-s.kr