Missing Navy Sailor Found Dead in East Sea; Investigation Underway

A South Korean Navy sailor, who had been reported missing, was found dead in the East Sea on Saturday. The discovery was made during a search operation conducted by the Navy.

The sailor, an enlisted rank, was last seen on Friday morning before his scheduled duty shift. He failed to report for duty, prompting an immediate search effort involving multiple naval vessels and aircraft, in coordination with the Coast Guard.

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During the search operation, a Navy high-speed boat discovered the body... and later recovered it using the frigate's high-speed boat.

The body was recovered by a high-speed boat from a frigate approximately 52 kilometers off the coast of Goseong County. Reports indicate the sailor was not wearing a life jacket at the time of discovery. The recovered body was transferred to another frigate and was expected to arrive at the Navy's East Sea base on Saturday morning.

The frigate the sailor was assigned to returned to the East Sea base Saturday morning. The Navy has stated that a joint investigation involving civilian police and military investigative agencies will be conducted to ascertain the precise circumstances of the incident and the cause of death.

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The exact circumstances of the accident and the cause of death will be jointly investigated by civilian police and military investigative agencies.