Lee Chae-ik, People Power Party Lawmaker
No Guidance Provided on Prioritizing Female Lawyers for Victims and Support for Private Attorneys
[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] Regarding the Air Force sexual harassment and death incident, it has been pointed out that the Air Force did not follow the military manual requiring the priority assignment of female lawyers. It was also revealed that unlike the Army, Navy, and Marine Corps, the Air Force does not have a single female legal officer.
On the 7th, Lee Chae-ik, a member of the People Power Party, disclosed part of the "Military Manual for Supporting Victims of Sexual Violence" submitted by the Ministry of National Defense and made these criticisms.
According to Lee’s office, Sergeant Lee was appointed a male legal officer from the Air Force Headquarters as a public defender on March 9, seven days after the incident occurred. At that time, the Air Force did not provide any separate explanation to Sergeant Lee and his family about the "priority assignment of female lawyers" or the "civilian lawyer support system."
The current Ministry of National Defense’s sexual violence victim support manual stipulates that if the victim is female, a female lawyer should be prioritized, and if no female lawyer is available, a civilian lawyer can be supported as a public defender using the military crime victim public defender budget. The Air Force stated, "Currently, two male legal officers alternate in handling public defense."
According to confirmations from Lee’s office with Sergeant Lee’s bereaved family, "Immediately after the incident, they were promised to be introduced to and appoint a civilian lawyer and were advised to prioritize securing evidence such as black box and CCTV from the civilian lawyer. However, the military guided them by saying, ‘Since the evidence is clear, it is okay to appoint a public defender even if it is not a civilian (lawyer),’ so they trusted the military and appointed a public defender."
The bereaved family stated, "The military neither promised to appoint a female lawyer at that time nor provided any separate explanation about budget support for appointing a civilian lawyer," adding, "If we had known about such a system, we would have naturally appointed the civilian lawyer initially promised."
Lee emphasized, "If the deceased, who was likely very psychologically unstable, had received legal assistance from a female civilian lawyer from the beginning, this unfortunate situation might have been avoided," and added, "The Ministry of National Defense must thoroughly investigate the process of appointing the deceased’s public defender and uncover the truth."
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