Defense Minister Lee Jong-seop's Resignation... What Impact on the Corruption Investigation Office?

Lee Jong-seop "To Prevent Security Vacuum..." Resignation Submitted
Opposition Decides Not to Pursue Impeachment... Investigation Expected to Have Minimal Impact

There is growing interest in how Defense Minister Lee Jong-seop's resignation will affect the opposition party's high-ranking public official investigation agency (PGA) complaint. The situation in which the Defense Minister is replaced by Shin Won-sik, a member of the People Power Party, is a variable that could influence the opposition party's response strategy.

The timing of Minister Lee's resignation coincided with the Democratic Party of Korea's efforts to push for an impeachment motion related to the investigation pressure controversy in the case of Corporal Chae. On the 11th, Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung issued a statement saying, "During the government questioning process, it was revealed in detail that Minister Lee broke the law and unjustly interfered in the investigation," and declared, "We will impeach Minister Lee."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

However, with Minister Lee's preemptive resignation, the Democratic Party's impeachment motion was ultimately abandoned. On the 15th, the Democratic Party announced that it would not pursue impeachment and stated, "We will use all means to ensure the special prosecutor (special investigation) for fact-finding is carried out."

Since Minister Lee is currently under complaint to the PGA, attention is also focused on future investigations. On the 5th, the Democratic Party filed a complaint with the PGA against Defense Minister Lee Jong-seop and an unidentified National Security Office official regarding allegations of investigation pressure.

Kim Jeong-min, lawyer for former Marine Corps investigation team leader (Colonel) Park Jeong-hoon, said on MBC Radio's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus' on the 13th, "It seems that the accused are not only the Defense Minister but several people. Of course, we filed complaints against the legal affairs officer and the prosecution team leader, but we understand that various civic groups have filed complaints against several related persons, so we expect that there will be no major obstacles to the PGA investigation."

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, moved his protest site from an outdoor tent to the party leader's office in the National Assembly on the 13th and continues his hunger strike. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

Meanwhile, criticism of "scapegoating" arose surrounding Minister Lee's resignation. On the 13th, Lee Jae-myung issued a statement saying, "When the Democratic Party tried to set the impeachment of the Defense Minister as the party's official stance, Minister Lee immediately resigned," and added, "The president, who had ignored the public and opposition party's demands to dismiss the minister until now, seems to be accepting it only now."

Additionally, Lee emphasized the push for a special prosecutor (special investigation) law related to the Corporal Chae case. He said, "Since the special prosecutor law has been proposed, the Democratic Party will thoroughly investigate the related parties and definitely reveal the truth."