[Editorial] Just Tell The Truth, The Whole Truth & Nothing But The Truth

More facts and circumstances, regarding the Yellow Sea Engagement, are being revealed day by day. Accordingly, it transpired that what the military has argued so far was not true. They have released inaccurate information intentionally, and the public feels anxious, which is absolutely unnecessary. In this context, the behavior of the top brass poses a grave concern.

A couple of days ago, the Ministry of Defense (MOD) announced that the North operated the radar for Sticks missiles as two of our patrol ships approached the scene. It was a circumstantial evidence for the MOD’s argument that there would have been an all-out war if our navy ships had followed and sunk down the North’s war ships.

But it was found that the North put the radar into operation just 2 minutes before the end of the clash. It also got to be known that the North began to operate the radar for Silkworm ground-to-ship missiles, 30 minutes after the Engagement was over. Thus the MOD’s assertion, that there was a high possibility of a war, stretched the truth too thin, and thus resulted in the widespread feeling of insecurity among the public.

But the MOD’s lying did not stop there. They also tried to cover up their misjudgment of belatedly dispatching our warships to the scene and hastily ordering “cease-fire.” For those wrong commands, our navy lost the chance to sink down the enemy ships. Nonetheless, the MOD kept contending that it took a long time for our ships to arrive due to bypassing the nets of our fishermen and that the initial reporting was not correct. All we can get from the contentions is the impression that they are just making up excuses.

We cannot help wondering whether this is the behavior expected of the military, leading to more doubts about the trustworthiness of the upcoming report by the Office of the Joint Chief of Staff.

The MOD may forget or ignore the reason for the current investigation. It’s only for learning our mistakes and preventing the same mistakes in the future. Therefore, the MOD should tell us the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. If the MOD tells a lie in order to avoid responsibilities, it drills a hole in our readiness for the national security.