Army nearly downed military drone during flight test: lawmaker

A South Korean military drone narrowly escaped being shot down by a front-line Army unit during a flight test, according to an opposition lawmaker. The incident occurred at the 1st Army Corps, located near the western border with North Korea, just days after the same unit mistakenly targeted a U.S. spy drone as a potential threat.

The 1st Corps had received advance notification of the drone's flight test but the drone flew at a higher altitude than initially declared, triggering an air defense alert. The lawmaker, Rep. Sung Il-jong of the People Power Party, called for Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back to resign over what he described as a "major blunder" in military discipline.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) maintained that the military was aware of the flight test plan and the drone's higher altitude posed no immediate threat.