South Korea's prime minister and defense minister apologized as hundreds of COVID-19-infected sailors were flown to Seoul on Tuesday after a navy destroyer patrolling the waters off Africa was found to be riddled with the coronavirus.
Almost 250 of the 301-strong unvaccinated crew aboard the destroyer Munmu the Great were infected, the country's biggest cluster of COVID-19 military cases, sparking a public furor at the government's failure to protect those serving abroad.
"I apologize for having failed to take better care of the health of our soldiers who devoted themselves to the country," Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum told an intra-agency COVID-19 meeting as he promised treatment and recovery support for the crew, which includes 12 in critical condition.