Im Seong-geun Sends Email to Reporters After Investigation Announcement
Colonel Park Jeong-hoon's Defense Team "Hope Special Prosecutor Is Established Soon"
The police have decided not to prosecute former Marine Corps 1st Division Commander Im Seong-geun, who was accused of professional negligence resulting in death in connection with the 'Marine Corps Corporal Chae Su-geun Line of Duty Death Incident.' The reason given was that the direct cause of Corporal Chae's death was the battalion commander's arbitrary change of search instructions, and thus a causal relationship with former Commander Im could not be established.
On the afternoon of the 8th at 2 p.m., the Gyeongbuk Police Agency held a press briefing and judged all nine acts alleged against former Commander Im to be without charge, forwarding only six mid-level managers to the prosecution on charges of joint professional negligence resulting in death. The police classified former Commander Im’s actions?such as issuing fragmentary orders under his name down to the battalion level, grid-pattern search instructions, failure to notify of missing person search duties, and inadequate safety measures?not as abuse of authority but as 'exceeding authority.'
On May 14th, former Marine Corps 1st Division Commander Im Seong-geun was questioned for over 22 hours at the Criminal Mobile Unit of the Gyeongbuk Provincial Police Agency in Gyeongsan, Gyeongbuk, regarding the "Marine Corps Private Cha Sang-byeong's death in the line of duty" case, and he is stating his position in front of the press. [Photo by Yonhap News]
Regarding the decision, former Commander Im Seong-geun said, "I have endured the past ten months waiting for the official fact-finding by the investigative agency," and added, "Those who have announced false facts different from the confirmed facts this time should correct their previous writings and claims by the 20th." He continued, "Please take measures that will help restore the honor of myself and the military, even if imperfectly or insufficiently," and requested, "Please notify me of whether such measures will be taken via text message or email. Based on the notification results, I will take all possible legal remedies, including criminal and civil lawsuits, against those who publicly assert false facts." He also emphasized, "The police investigation results are almost the same as what I have stated based on evidence and legal principles so far," and added, "I hope there will be no more false claims going forward."
On the morning of June 21, at the plenary meeting of the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee where the legislative hearing on the "Special Prosecutor Appointment Act for the Investigation of Obstruction and Cover-up of the Truth Regarding the Death of a Marine" (Special Prosecutor Act Chaesangbyeong) was held, former Marine Corps Investigation Unit Commander Park Jeong-hoon (from left), Ministry of National Defense Legal Affairs Officer Yoo Jae-eun, and former Marine Corps 1st Division Commander Lim Seong-geun were present. [Photo by Yonhap News]
On the other hand, the legal team representing Colonel Park Jeong-hoon, who has been at odds with former Commander Im, stated in a press release that day, "It is difficult to accept that the Gyeongbuk Police Agency did not forward former Commander Im Seong-geun to prosecution." The legal team pointed out, "The rationale given by the Gyeongbuk Police Agency when forwarding the commander of the 7th Marine Brigade of the 1st Marine Division?that a court judgment on causality is necessary?should equally apply to former Commander Im." This means that not only the 7th Brigade commander but also former Commander Im should have the opportunity for a court judgment, but the police blocked that opportunity. Finally, the legal team urged, "The announcement of the Gyeongbuk Police Agency’s investigation results clearly shows why a special prosecutor is necessary," and called for, "The prompt establishment of a special prosecutor to thoroughly investigate who is responsible for Corporal Chae’s death and who interfered with the Marine Corps investigation, and why."
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