Special Prosecutor to Investigate on Charges of Abuse of Authority
The Special Prosecutor's team investigating the death of Corporal Chae, led by Lee Myunghyun, will summon and question former National Security Office Director Cho Taeyong as a suspect on July 29.
Special Prosecutor Jeong Minyoung stated at a regular briefing on July 28, "At 9:30 a.m. on July 29, former Director Cho will be summoned as a suspect on charges of abuse of authority and obstruction of the exercise of rights in relation to the Corporal Chae case."
Special Prosecutor Jeong added, "He is a person who attended the meeting on July 31, 2023. We plan to thoroughly investigate how the results of the investigation into Corporal Chae's death were reported to the President, what kind of response the President showed, to whom and what instructions were given, and how those instructions affected the investigation results." Previously, on July 11, the Special Prosecutor's team searched former Director Cho's residence and secured his mobile phone and other items.
Former Director Cho attended the Presidential Office's Senior Secretary for Foreign Affairs and National Security meeting on July 31, 2023, as the National Security Office Director, where former President Yoon Sukyeol reportedly became 'furious' after receiving the initial investigation results from the Marine Corps investigation team regarding the Corporal Chae case. At that time, after being informed that former Marine Corps 1st Division Commander Lim Sungkeun was also included as a suspect, former President Yoon suddenly became angry, and then, leaving only former Director Cho and former Defense Secretary Lim Gihun in the room, he reportedly called former Defense Minister Lee Jongseop. On August 2, 2023, the day the Marine Corps investigation team defied higher-level orders and proceeded to transfer the Corporal Chae case records to the police, there is also a record of former Director Cho calling and speaking with former Minister Lee, raising suspicions that he was involved in the retrieval of the case records.
Meanwhile, the Special Prosecutor's team plans to summon and question former Defense Policy Director Heo Taekeun again at 2 p.m. on the same day. Former Director Heo was present on July 30, 2023, when former Minister Lee received the Marine Corps investigation team's initial report stating that "former Marine Corps 1st Division Commander Lim Sungkeun was charged with involuntary manslaughter."
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