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Civilian receives minor injuries during army mortar fire training

Published: 19 Nov. 2025, 20:13

Soldiers are seen firing 81-millimeter mortar rounds during a training exercise at an Army base in Incheon on Sept. 7, 2017, in this photo unrelated to the story. [YONHAP]

A civilian was injured in a training accident involving a misfired mortar round at a front line Army unit on Wednesday.

An 81-millimeter mortar round fired during a training exercise at a unit in Yanggu County, Gangwon, landed approximately 600 meters (1,970 feet) from its intended target, falling into a field, according to the military on Wednesday.

Around 20 civilians were working in the field at the time. One person suffered a laceration above the eyebrow from shrapnel.

The injured individual was transported to a hospital and received stitches. Their condition is not life-threatening.

While the military continues to investigate the exact cause, it is suspected that a mistake occurred during the loading of the mortar propellant, which may have led to the misfire.

The Army said it had notified residents of the training schedule a week in advance and had issued warnings and deployed perimeter guards on the day of the exercise as part of its safety protocols.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY KIM EUN-BIN [[email protected]]