A commotion occurred when an unexploded bomb was discovered at a construction site in Cheongju-si, Chungcheongbuk-do, prompting military deployment.
At around 11:41 AM on the 13th, a worker who was digging at a house redevelopment construction site in Sajik District 3 of Cheongju-si discovered an artillery shell buried in a 20-feet-deep pit. The shell was approximately 59 inches long and 16 inches in diameter.
The shell was an aerial bomb used by the U.S. military in the Korean War. The 17th Combat Flight Wing’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team was dispatched to disassemble the detonator and take it away.
On the 7th, another aerial bomb of the same kind was discovered about 33 feet away.
A police official said, “We requested Cheongju-si to halt construction until safety checks are completed, as there is a chance that more shells will be found.”
According to the “Performance of Discovery and Disposal of Unexploded Bombs in Recent 5 Years” given to Ki Dong Min, a member of the National Defense Committee of the Democratic Party, by the Ministry of National Defense in 2021, the number of unexploded bombs found was 15,766 (1,079 cases) in 2017, 19,671 (876 cases) in 2018, 55,003 (953 cases) in 2019, 29,849 (1,205 cases) in 2020, and 86,488 (983 cases) as of August 2021.
Representative Ki Dong Min said, “A large number of unexploded bombs are currently being discovered in civilian areas, most of which are shells, bombs, and bullets used during the Korean War.” He pointed out that “Despite being buried for over 60 years, these bombs can potentially hurt civilians, so the military authorities need to devise measures to retrieve them safely.”
There have been incidents where such bombs exploded and caused civilian deaths and injuries. In 2012, a 40mm high-explosive shell for a grenade launcher exploded in a junk pile at a scrap dealer in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province, killing a worker. Four other workers who had been working together were also seriously injured.
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