By Lee Kyung-min
A group of activists filed a complaint with the prosecution Monday against two U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) commanders for their alleged involvement in the delivery of live anthrax samples to a military lab here from the United States.
During a press conference near the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, the activists said the two ― USFK Commander Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti and 7th Air Force Commander Lt. Gen. Terrence O’Shaughnessy ― should be held accountable for the unlawful delivery of the hazardous material.
Earlier, the USFK admitted that live anthrax samples were delivered to its Osan Air Base, south of Seoul, for tests, triggering uproar here. The Pentagon apologized for the delivery, but said it was an “accident.”
“The USFK failed to comply with the law here, thereby posing substantial public health risk. We demand a thorough investigation into the matter and due punishment for the two,” the activists said in a statement.
The group claimed that they failed not only to report the delivery with the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, but also failed to obtain permission from the Ministry of Health and Welfare in advance.
“The officials were aware of the manufacture and storage of the material. And yet no official report in detail was submitted with the related ministries. What they did shows the utmost disregard for the law here,” the statement said.
Following the heated criticism against the alleged failure in managing the delivery, the Pentagon announced that Korea was among the countries that accidentally received a parcel containing live anthrax samples for military tests alongside the United States, Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom. Twenty-two lab workers here were exposed to the material, but nobody has so far shown any signs of infection, it added.