The special prosecutor team led by Lee Myunghyun, which is investigating allegations of external pressure on the investigation into the death of Marine Corps Corporal Chae, conducted a search and seizure targeting Lee Wonmo, former Presidential Secretary for Personnel Affairs.
At a regular briefing on August 8, Special Prosecutor Jung Minyoung stated, "The search and seizure of former Secretary Lee was carried out yesterday (the 7th), and since his person and vehicle were within the scope, his mobile phone was seized. His residence was not included." Regarding the background for initiating the search and seizure, Jung explained, "We confirmed circumstances indicating that, during Lee's tenure, discussions took place between the Personnel Secretary's Office and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs regarding the appointment of former Minister Lee as Ambassador to Australia."
Former Secretary Lee served as the President’s Personnel Secretary, assisting with the exercise of presidential personnel authority, from the launch of the Yoon Suk Yeol administration until January 2024. He is also known to have been involved in the personnel vetting process for the appointment of former Defense Minister Lee Jongseop as Ambassador to Australia, even though Lee Jongseop was under a travel ban at the time.
In connection with the investigation into suspicions that former Minister Lee fled to Australia, the special prosecutor team completed four consecutive days of search and seizure operations from August 4 to 7. The Presidential Archives, the National Information Resources Service, certain offices within the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as relevant staff from the Presidential Office, Ministry of Justice, and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, were all subject to the searches.
Special Prosecutor Jung stated, "We are reviewing whether the personnel vetting by the Presidential Office and the Ministry of Justice’s Personnel Information Management Division, the qualification review by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the process of lifting the travel ban by the Ministry of Justice were carried out properly. For the main suspects who were subject to the search and seizure, we plan to conduct investigations after analyzing the seized materials."
The special prosecutor team announced that all individuals who were the subject of the search and seizure are suspects in the case. Those who were searched in connection with this case include former Foreign Minister Cho Taeyul, former National Security Office Director Jang Hojin, former Justice Minister Park Sungjae, former Prosecutor General Shim Woojung, former Vice Justice Minister Lee Nogong, former Personnel Information Management Division Director Park Haengyeol, and former Immigration and Foreign Policy Bureau Director Lee Jaeyu.
Meanwhile, it was revealed that there are no 2023 communication records on the so-called "secret phone" of First Lady Kim Keonhee, which was secured by the special prosecutor team. Special Prosecutor Jung stated, "There were no 2023 records in the communication log stored on the Presidential Security Service server." Regarding whether the records were intentionally deleted, he added, "We are currently investigating this."
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