F-15K fighter jets are mobilized for a defensive counter-air exercise, Aug. 21, 2023. A handout photo made available by the Air Force shows the aircraft in formation. Yonhap
Korea's audit agency reduced by 90 percent a fine for an Air Force pilot who was found to have caused a midair collision for a selfie.
While the Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) ruled the pilot was partially responsible for the 2021 crash, the reduced penalty is part of a broader Wednesday report detailing severe financial and disciplinary mismanagement across 12 state institutions.
The high-profile case involves an Air Force major who crashed an F-15K fighter jet during his final flight before a reassignment. The pilot raised his altitude and tilted the aircraft without notifying his formation to capture the jet's upper section in a smartphone selfie. The maneuver caused a midair collision with another fighter jet. Both aircraft landed safely without casualties.
The Ministry of National Defense initially ordered the pilot to reimburse the full 878.7 million won ($594,632) repair cost. The pilot appealed the decision to the BAI. He admitted negligence but argued he was not financially liable for the aircraft and did not significantly violate his duty of care.
The BAI reduced the reimbursement to approximately 88 million won. The agency justified the 90 percent reduction by citing the customary nature of commemorative flight photos and the Air Force's failure to regulate the practice. The board also noted that the pilot prevented further damage through skillful handling post-collision and possessed a long service record.
The audit exposed broader administrative dysfunction beyond the military. The BAI found the government failed to recover 2.67 billion won in subsidies for 460 electric vehicles (EV) that did not fulfill their mandatory operation periods since 2020.
Investigators attributed the loss of funds to disconnected databases. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport manages vehicle registrations, while the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment oversees subsidies. The lack of system linkage prevents officials from tracking cancellations and recovering funds simultaneously. The audit also revealed that 1.55 billion won in recovered EV subsidies has not been returned to the state treasury.
Separately, embezzlement was uncovered in the power sector. The Jeonbuk Headquarters Imsil Branch of the Korea Electric Power Corp. misappropriated approximately 47 million won in customer advance payments, according to the audit. Employees used the funds to cover other customers' late fees to avoid the burden of collecting late payments.
The BAI demanded the relevant organizations recover the missing subsidies, implement institutional system improvements and take disciplinary action against the involved personnel.
Source: Korea Times News
