Prior to the 12·3 state of emergency, the military purchased 3,000 body bags for temporary storage of corpses, and the military authorities reiterated on the 20th that this was "a normal delivery activity to secure military supplies."
A military official stated at a regular briefing at the Ministry of National Defense that regarding the opposition party's suspicion about the body bags, "the army has been managing and stocking body bags in preparation for wartime. The body bags delivered in December 2024 were reflected according to the 2022 guidelines from the Joint Chiefs of Staff, which is part of the military's normal delivery activities." He added, "It is simply a sequential increase according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff plan."
The day before, Democratic Party Supreme Member Kim Byung-joo claimed at the Supreme Council meeting that "the military actually purchased over 3,000 body bags for temporary storage of corpses last December. This is nearly double the usual inventory. It is a very unusual situation," and asked, "Was this in preparation for the possibility of a large-scale occurrence of corpses right after the state of emergency?"
A Ministry of National Defense official stated at a briefing that "body bags are essential military supplies for maintaining combat readiness," and "body bags are reflected in the budget in advance based on five or ten-year plans. This was included in the mid-term plan, and there is a record of how much will be secured each year."
According to the army, in accordance with the 2022 Joint Chiefs of Staff guidelines, the annual requirements for stocking body bags were reflected in the mid-term plan for 2024-2028, and the quantities gradually increased each year are scheduled to be delivered until 2028.