Seoul: Two special counsel teams on Tuesday defended their raids on a church and a military base, asserting that no laws were violated, following remarks by U.S. President Donald Trump expressing concern over their actions.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Trump mentioned on Monday, prior to his meeting with President Lee Jae Myung in Washington, that he was aware of "very vicious raids on churches" in South Korea, and noted reports that "they even went into a military base and got information." These remarks seemed to reference a raid conducted by special counsel Lee Myeong-hyeon's team on the Yoido Full Gospel Church last month. This raid was part of an investigation into alleged government interference in a military probe concerning a Marine's death in 2023.
Assistant special counsel Choung Min-young justified the church raid, emphasizing that his team had secured a court-issued warrant. He explained, "We explained the need for a search as we filed for the warrant, and there have been no legal violations in its execution." The investigation links Rev. Lee Young-hoon, a senior pastor at the church, to an initial suspect in the 2023 military probe, who was exonerated following alleged government interference.
Special counsel Cho Eun-suk's team, investigating former President Yoon Suk Yeol's unsuccessful attempt to declare martial law in December, similarly defended its July raid on the Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, located approximately 60 kilometers south of Seoul. This base, jointly operated by the South Korean military and U.S. Forces Korea, was raided as part of an inquiry into allegations that Yoon ordered drone dispatches to North Korea last year to provoke retaliation and justify martial law.
Assistant special counsel Park Ji-young clarified during a press briefing, "The material seized in the raid was under the supervision of only the South Korean military and had nothing to do with the U.S. military. I understand that the U.S. military did not take issue with or protest about the raid."
Meanwhile, Lee Myeong-hyeon's team has informed President Lee and the National Assembly of their decision to extend the investigation period by an additional 30 days, now concluding on Sept. 29. A special counsel bill passed in June allows the investigation to run up to 140 days, including preparation time. The team also communicated a necessity to the National Assembly to amend the special counsel law to permit longer investigation periods.