Seoul: Former Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup appeared at the Seoul Central District Court for a hearing concerning his possible arrest over allegations that he interfered in a military investigation into the 2023 death of Marine conscript Cpl. Chae Su-geun.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the hearing was prompted by special counsel Lee Myeong-hyeon's request for an arrest warrant, citing charges of abuse of power among other offenses connected to the alleged interference. Before the hearing, Lee Jong-sup addressed reporters, stating his intention to provide a comprehensive explanation in court while denying the charges against him.
The allegations suggest that the former administration under Yoon Suk Yeol may have intervened in the Marine Corps' investigation into Chae's death to potentially absolve a senior Marine commander of liability. The former minister is accused of preventing the investigation from being transferred to the police and later retrieving it after Yoon allegedly reacted angrily when informed about the case.
Lee Jong-sup has acknowledged Yoon's reaction but insisted that he was not instructed to exclude any individual from the suspect list or halt the investigation's transfer. He defended his decision to stop the transfer as a valid exercise of his ministerial authority, denying any orders to exclude Marine commander Lim Seong-geun from the suspect list.
Cpl. Chae, who was part of Lim's unit, died in July 2023 after being swept away by a swollen stream during a search operation for heavy rain victims, reportedly lacking proper safety equipment like a life vest.
In a related hearing, an arrest warrant was also sought for Lim at the same court. The special counsel team accused Lim of negligently causing Chae's death by allegedly ordering the search without ensuring proper safety measures. Lim declined to comment when approached by reporters at the court.
Lim's defense claims that he should not be held legally responsible as he did not have operational command over the mission, which was managed by another Army unit. Decisions on the potential arrests of both Lee and Lim are anticipated as early as later in the day.