A day later, after destroying an additional 18 Japanese transport vessels in nearby waters, Yi Sun-sin and Won Gyun parted ways and returned to their home ports after receiving news of the fall of Hanseong.

Panicking after the fall of Busan to the Japanese, Gyeongsang Left Navy Commander Bak Hong ordered his weapons and stores destroyed, and scuttled his fleet of 100 warships without giving combat.

[5] Won Gyun called on Yi Sun-sin for assistance; however, as commander of the Cholla Left Navy, he was not allowed to leave his region without permission from his superiors.

He needed to acquire charts of the rocky coastal waters of Gyeongsang Province for his fleet to navigate safely, and he was also uncertain of the discipline of the men under his command and was forced to execute deserters to set an example, including on 12 June, the day Hanseong fell to the Japanese.

When Yi Sun-sin and Won Gyun arrived near Geojedo on 16 June, a scouting vessel alerted them to the presence of Japanese ships anchored at the port of Okpo.

Under order from Todo Takatora, the Japanese tried to fight back with their firearms but the arquebus, while effective on land, did little damage to the thick wooden hulls of the Korean warships.

Yi Sun-sin resisted the impulse to land his men and to pursue the surviving Japanese on the island, as the risk was great and such an action would leave his fleet undermanned and vulnerable.

Enraged by the looting and encouraged by the ease of their success, Yi Sun-sin and Won Gyun briefly considered continuing on to Busan to attack the main Japanese fleet.

However, word came of the fall of Hanseong eight days before, and Yi Sun-sin and Won Gyun decided to part ways and return to their home ports.