The funeral service for the five marines sacrificed in the helicopter crash last week is going to take place today. 

My heart aches when I think of how enormous the sorrow must be for the bereaved families who lost their loved ones. I pray for the repose of the fallen soldiers, and my deepest sympathy goes out to the bereaved families. 

They were conducting a test flight on an amphibious helicopter. They fell victim to an accident while fulfilling their duty to enhance the military strength of the Marine Corps.  

Sharing the sorrow of the bereaved families, I want to call out the fallen by name: Colonel Kim Jung-il, Lieutenant Colonel Roh Dong-hwan, Master Sergeant Kim Jin-hwa, Gunnery Sergeant Kim Se-young and Sergeant Park Jae-woo. We will never be able to forget the officers and men who devoted themselves to the nation and their unit. 

The Government will never neglect any responsibility to repay and honor those who have lost their lives or been injured in the line of duty. The cause of the accident will be thoroughly investigated, and follow-up measures will be fully carried out so that such an incident will never occur again. 

Nothing can lift the bereaved relatives out of their sadness at this time, but I promise the families that their noble spirit of sacrifice will be honored and that the country will stand by the bereaved families on behalf of the officers and men. 

I would also like to express my deepest sympathy to the family of Master Sergeant Kim Yong-sun who was severely injured. I earnestly hope that his surgery today will be carried out successfully, and the Government will make every possible effort for his quick recovery.