The Navy held a ceremony Sunday at the 2nd Fleet Command in Pyeongtaek to mark the 24th anniversary of its victory in the Second Battle of Yeonpyeong, the Navy said.
Attendees included Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back and Navy Chief of Staff Kim Kyung-ryul, as well as bereaved family members of those killed in action, including Seo Young-seok, head of the bereaved families association and father of the late Petty Officer Seo Hoo-won. Lee Hee-wan, former vice minister of patriots and veterans affairs who took part in the battle as deputy commander of Patrol Killer 357, also attended.
"Waves will continue to strike the West Sea," Ahn said in his commemorative address. "Each time we face the fierce waves, we will engrave deep in our hearts the sacrifice and devotion of the six heroes, and we will stand firm and prevail."
"Building a strong military trusted by the people is the mission of all of us living today," he stressed. "Our military will continue to defend the Republic of Korea unwaveringly, based on a perfect state of readiness."
The Second Battle of Yeonpyeong broke out on the morning of June 29, 2002, when the entire nation's attention was focused on the third-place playoff of the Korea-Japan World Cup. Two North Korean patrol boats crossed the Northern Limit Line (NLL) near Yeonpyeong Island and launched a surprise attack on Patrol Killer 357, a high-speed boat belonging to the Navy's 2nd Fleet.
The Navy subdued the North Korean patrol boats, but in the process, the commander of Patrol Killer 357, Lieutenant Yoon Young-ha; helmsman Chief Petty Officer Han Sang-guk; gunner Chief Petty Officer Cho Cheon-hyung; Petty Officer Hwang Do-hyun; and Petty Officer Seo Hoo-won were killed in action. Medic Sergeant Park Dong-hyuk was seriously wounded and was killed in action 83 days later on September 20.
The Navy has designated the names of the six heroes killed in action in the Second Battle of Yeonpyeong as the names of its 450-ton guided-missile high-speed vessels, carrying on their spirit of national defense.
