In connection with the on-duty death of Marine Police Officer Sergeant Lee Jaeseok (34), the prosecution has conducted a search and seizure operation targeting the Korea Coast Guard headquarters, the Incheon Coast Guard Station, and the Yeongheung Police Substation.
On September 18, at around 4:00 p.m., the Incheon District Prosecutors’ Office carried out searches at the Incheon Coast Guard Station in Seo-gu, Incheon, and the Yeongheung Police Substation in Ongjin County. An hour later, the prosecution continued its search and seizure at the situation room and the information and communications department of the Korea Coast Guard headquarters.
It has been reported that the prosecution is investigating Lee Gwangjin, Chief of the Incheon Coast Guard Station, the head of the Yeongheung Police Substation, and the on-duty team leader on charges including abuse of authority and falsification of official documents.
Chief Lee and others are suspected of instructing staff at the Yeongheung Police Substation to remain silent about the incident following Sergeant Lee’s death in the line of duty on September 11. Previously, four members of the on-duty team held a press conference and revealed, “We were ordered by the head of the Yeongheung Police Substation to keep quiet about the incident because Sergeant Lee needed to be made into a ‘hero.’”
As a result, on September 16, the Korea Coast Guard placed Chief Lee and others on standby and suspended them from their duties.
On the 15th, the funeral ceremony for the late Marine Police Officer Sergeant Lee Jaeseok was solemnly held at the Incheon Coast Guard Station in Seo-gu, Incheon. 2025.9.15 Yonhap News Photo by Yonhap
On September 11, at around 3:30 a.m., Sergeant Lee went missing while attempting to rescue an elderly person who had become stranded by the incoming tide while gathering shellfish in the tidal flats of Yeongheungdo, Ongjin County, Incheon. At 9:41 a.m. that day, he was found in cardiac arrest at sea, 1.4 kilometers from Kkotseom in Yeongheung-myeon, and was transported to the hospital by emergency responders but was pronounced dead.
There were six on-duty officers at the Yeongheung Police Substation that day, but four were on break, so Sergeant Lee responded alone, and the deployment of additional personnel was delayed. Furthermore, it was discovered that the substation violated several regulations, such as the two-person dispatch rule and a maximum three-hour break policy, and that break times and other details were falsely recorded in the duty log.
Given the seriousness of the case and staffing circumstances at the local station, the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office dispatched the Anti-Corruption Planning Director (at the deputy chief prosecutor level) to lead the investigation team at the Incheon District Prosecutors’ Office, forming a team that includes one prosecutor from the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office and three anti-corruption prosecutors from the Incheon District Prosecutors’ Office.
Previously, on September 15, President Lee Jaemyung ordered a thorough and independent investigation into Sergeant Lee’s death, directing that the case be handled by an external, independent body rather than the Coast Guard itself.
Kang Yujeong, spokesperson for the Presidential Office, stated, “President Lee noted that testimony had emerged from the late officer’s colleagues that higher-ups were concealing the truth, and he issued this directive to ensure that there would be no injustice for the bereaved family and colleagues.”
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
