Court: "Difficult to Punish for Coercion of Interviews"
Former Air Force Legal Office Chief Jeon Ik-su, who was indicted for improper interference in the military investigation of the late Sergeant Lee Ye-ram's death case, was acquitted.
On the 10th, the Supreme Court's 2nd Division (Presiding Justice Oh Kyung-mi) upheld the lower court's verdict acquitting former Chief Jeon, who was charged with coercion of interviews under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes.
The Supreme Court stated, "There is no error in the legal interpretation regarding the establishment of the violation of the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes, breach of official secrets, and violation of the Personal Information Protection Act."
Former Chief Jeon was suspected of being responsible for the inadequate initial investigation during the process in which Sergeant Lee Ye-ram, who belonged to the Air Force 20th Fighter Wing, was sexually harassed by a senior non-commissioned officer on March 2, 2021, and later took her own life on May 21 of the same year.
Jeon was indicted in September 2022 on charges including calling a military prosecutor who requested an arrest warrant "wrong" after the warrant for military civilian employee Yang Mo (52), who allegedly provided him with security information related to Sergeant Lee's case, was dismissed in July 2021.
Under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes, coercing or exerting power to force an interview without justifiable reason on a person who knows necessary facts related to the investigation or trial of a criminal case involving oneself or others is considered a retaliatory crime and punishable. Former Chief Jeon was demoted from brigadier general to colonel in November 2022 as disciplinary action.
However, both the first and second trials acquitted Jeon. The second trial stated, "The crime of coercion of interviews was basically enacted to protect witnesses and reference persons, so unless there are special circumstances, it is difficult to apply this law to punish acts of requesting interviews from investigators." It added, "This does not mean that the defendant's actions are justified or legally justified."
The special prosecutor's office appealed, but the Supreme Court found no error in the second trial's ruling and dismissed the appeal on the same day.
Colonel Jeong Mo (48), who was in charge of public relations at the Air Force Headquarters and accused of defaming Sergeant Lee by leaking false information and official secrets to the media to reverse the public criticism against the Air Force after Sergeant Lee's death became known, was sentenced to two years in prison.
The Military Human Rights Center issued a statement on the day, expressing "deep regret over the Supreme Court's passive judgment." The center criticized, "The military, which neglected secondary harm and tried to conceal and downplay the case; the National Assembly, which did not enact laws to punish superiors like Jeon Ik-su who exert improper pressure on investigations related to themselves; and the Supreme Court, which passively interpreted and applied the law saying 'there is guilt but no punishment,' all cannot be free from responsibility for Sergeant Lee's unjust death."
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