The military is reviewing plans to allow only service members who have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to be assigned to overseas missions.

In a report to the National Assembly on Monday, the Defense Ministry said its legal division is looking at limiting overseas deployment to vaccinated soldiers.

The review follows public outcry over a recent mass outbreak onboard a destroyer carrying 301 sailors of the Cheonghae unit off the coast of Africa. None had been vaccinated prior to leaving in February.

The ministry said 56 out of one-thousand-ten soldiers currently on an overseas mission, including members of the Hanbit peacekeeping unit in South Sudan and Dongmyeong peacekeeping unit in Lebanon, have not been vaccinated.

Five of the 300 sailors in the replacement contingent sent to the Cheonghae unit destroyer also were not vaccinated.

The ministry is considering either bringing home unvaccinated soldiers on early rotation or having them get vaccinated while overseas.