By Lee Tae-hoon
Nine senior military officials, including five generals, have rejected the rulings of the disciplinary board over their responsibility for the sinking of the frigate Cheonan last March, a defense official said Sunday.
He said their cases have been referred to appeal boards slated to hold sessions next month.
“The appeal board will deliberate on the cases of the generals in one day and those of lower ranks on another day in the second week of February," the official said.
A total of 11 military officials were brought to the board in November last year over allegedly negligence of duties or fabricating reports over the Cheonan tragedy, which took the lives of 46 of the sailors aboard.
The board ruled not to take any disciplinary action against Choi Won-il, the surviving former captain of the warship Cheonan, unless he causes a problem in the next six months.
It also cleared all charges against Yang Cheol-ho, who was in charge of operations at the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the time of the incident.
The remaining officers however were found accountable for creating security loopholes.
A military source says if the appeal board upholds the ruling, the disgraced officers are likely to seek an appeal at a civil court.
He said that all of them refuse to take any responsibility for the failure to prevent the sinking of the Cheonan, which was allegedly torpedoed by a North Korean submarine on March 26, 2010.