A special prosecutor’s team, looking into the death of a Marine, has referred former President Yoon Suk-yeol, Lee Jong-sup, former Minister of National Defense, and 10 others to court on allegations such as misuse of power for supposedly influencing the Marine Corps investigation unit’s conclusions about the death of late Corporal Chae Soo-geun on the 21st. The charges were filed four and a half months after the inquiry started on July 2.
On July 19, 2023, former President Yoon was informed about the initial conclusions of the Marine Corps investigation unit concerning the death of Corporal Chae during a search operation. The report indicated that Lim Seong-geun, former head of the 1st Marine Division, along with seven others, would be sent to the North Gyeongsang Province National Police Agency for charges of criminal negligence leading to death. On July 31 of the same year, following receipt of the report, former President Yoon reportedly showed frustration, commenting, “Who would want to serve as a division commander in South Korea if commanders are held accountable for such issues?” as reported by the special prosecutor.
As per the special counsel team looking into the death of a Marine, former Minister Lee, following a reprimand from former President Yoon, directed Kim Gye-hwan, former Commander of the Marine Corps, to halt the transfer. Furthermore, Yoo Jae-eun, former officer in the legal affairs department of the Defense Ministry, who had received orders from former Minister Lee, instructed Park Jeong-hoon, head of the Marine Corps investigation unit, to alter the findings of the investigation.
Park Jeong-hoon informed Kim Gye-hwan that modifying the investigation findings might lead to charges of abuse of authority against officials from the Presidential Office and the Defense Ministry, and would complicate efforts to persuade Corporal Chae’s family. Although Kim shared these concerns with Park Jin-hee, the former military aide to the Defense Minister (a retired Army major general), the following day, August 1, and mentioned that altering the results would be challenging, Park Jin-hee continued to push for Lim Seong-geun’s exclusion from the list of suspects.
However, the Marine Corps investigative unit did not follow through and forwarded the investigation documents to the police on August 2. In reaction, former President Yoon directed Cho Tae-yong, the former National Security Advisor, to have the Defense Ministry retrieve the records. Former Minister Lee also instructed Kim Gye-hwan to remove Park Jeong-hoon from his post and assign Kim Dong-hyuk, the former head of the Defense Ministry’s prosecution department (a senior army officer), to investigate Park for insubordination. Furthermore, the investigation records were later retrieved by Yoo Jae-eun and modified by Park Jin-hee. Consequently, Lim Seong-geun was reclassified from a “suspect in criminal negligence leading to death” to a “person associated with the case.”
The special prosecutor said, “Former President Yoon provided clear and specific directions to remove high-ranking officers such as Lim Seong-geun from the list of suspects in a specific case, while former Minister Lee and others passed on illegal commands in sequence, misusing their power and undermining the fairness of the military police investigation as well as the independence of their duties.”
Furthermore, the special prosecutor brought allegations of leaking classified information against former Minister Lee for revealing details and significant remarks concerning the insubordination investigation involving Park Jeong-hoon to former President Yoon and other individuals. Former Minister Lee was also accused of lying under oath for supposedly giving false testimony to secure Park Jeong-hoon’s conviction in a military court.
Individuals facing trial on charges of abuse of authority, along with other allegations, include former President Yoon, former Minister Lee, Cho Tae-yong, former National Security Advisor, Kim Gye-hwan, former Marine Corps Commander, and Shin Beom-chul (Vice Minister), Jeon Ha-gyu (spokesperson), Heo Tae-geun (policy director), Yoo Jae-eun (legal affairs officer), Park Jin-hee (military aide to the Defense Minister), Kim Dong-hyuk (head of the prosecution division), Yoo Gyun-hye (planning and management officer), and Lee Mo (head of organizational supervision) from the Defense Ministry during the incident.
