Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum has offered an apology for the government's failure to prevent a mass COVID-19 outbreak on a naval destroyer carrying the Cheonghae unit.

During a government meeting on Tuesday, the prime minister said the government is very sorry for failing to attentively take care of the health of its troops serving the country with dedication.

The apology comes as 82 percent of some 300 sailors in the unit tested positive for COVID-19. All of the unit members are set to return home on Tuesday afternoon on two aerial tankers. 

The prime minister ordered the Defense Ministry to do its best for the treatment and recovery of the returning troops and to take steps to ensure no vacuum is created in the anti-piracy mission after the sudden rotation of troops.