Lt. Gen. Han Ki-sung, former commander of the Army’s 1st Corps (Republic of Korea Army) The commander of the 1st Corps has been removed from duty amid scrutiny over a series of readiness lapses, including the recent mishandling of US military drones operating near the western front, military officials said Monday.Lt. Gen. Han Ki-sung was placed on administrative leave pending an investigation, with an acting commander appointed to lead the corps, according to the Army.The move comes days after drones detected in an area overseen by the 1st Corps were initially classified as unidentified aircraft, prompting local authorities to issue emergency alerts advising residents to evacuate or take safety precautions.The aircraft were later identified as US military drones being used in an operation, rather than North Korean or unauthorized civilian drones.According to military officials, the US side had notified the South Korean military in advance through a text message. The information, however, was not properly relayed through the Korean military’s chain of command to the unit responsible for monitoring the area.A military official said the investigation would seek to determine why the prior US notification failed to reach the relevant operational unit and where the communication breakdown occurred.The failure resulted in the drones being treated as unidentified aircraft, with information subsequently relayed to local authorities leading to the public warning.The Joint Chiefs of Staff later conducted an on-site inspection of the 1st Corps, focusing on its readiness posture and procedures for receiving, reporting and distributing operational information.The corps had already faced criticism after it instructed front-line units to store ammunition belts separately from K6 heavy machine guns at guard posts, despite standing guidelines requiring the weapons to remain loaded for immediate use.Military authorities are examining the corps’ command, reporting and information-sharing procedures as part of the investigation.