Former Advisor Park Jinhee to Be Summoned Again on July 30
The Chae Sangbyeong Special Prosecutor's Office (Special Prosecutor Lee Myunghyun) announced on July 29 that it will summon Lee Siwon, former Presidential Office Secretary for Public Discipline, for questioning as a suspect on July 31.
Special Prosecutor Jeong Minyoung stated at a regular briefing that "on August 2, 2023, the Marine Corps Investigation Team handed over the initial investigation records of the Chae Sangbyeong case to the police, but the Ministry of National Defense's Prosecutors' Office retrieved them. It has been confirmed that former Secretary Lee communicated closely with police and Ministry of National Defense officials both on that day and during subsequent follow-up measures."
Special Prosecutor Jeong added, "Whether there were any illegal acts during the process of retrieving the case records is also an important subject of investigation," and said, "We plan to focus mainly on this aspect in relation to former Secretary Lee."
Former Secretary Lee is suspected of being involved in the retrieval of the case records by frequently communicating with former National Defense Secretary Lim Gihun and former Ministry of National Defense Legal Affairs Director Yoo Jaeun, after the Marine Corps Investigation Team transferred the initial investigation records of the Chae Sangbyeong case?naming former Division Commander Lim Seonggeun and others as suspects for occupational negligence resulting in death?to the North Gyeongsang Provincial Police Agency on August 2, 2023. Earlier, on July 10, the special prosecutor's team conducted a search and seizure of former Secretary Lee's residence and other locations to secure evidence supporting the charges.
Regarding Cho Taeyong, former Director of National Security, who appeared for questioning on the morning of July 29, Special Prosecutor Jeong stated, "He attended the Presidential Senior Secretary Meeting on July 31, 2023," and added, "We believe he is well aware of the details reported to former President Yoon Sukyeol at that time, the president's reactions, and to whom and what instructions former President Yoon gave after receiving the report. We will focus our questioning on these points."
Meanwhile, the special prosecutor's team plans to summon Park Jinhee, former Military Advisor at the Ministry of National Defense, again for questioning on July 30, following her previous appearance on July 28. Special Prosecutor Jeong said, "Although we have already conducted a lengthy investigation, there are still additional matters to be clarified, so we decided to call her in again tomorrow."
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