[How Far Has the Special Prosecutor Investigation Gone] ③ 'Calm Yet Active' Marine Special Prosecutor... Will the Truth Behind Alleged External Pressure Be Revealed?

No Indictments or Arrests in 90 Days by Marine Special Prosecutor Team...
Progress Made in Uncovering 'VIP Outrage'
Investigation into External Pressure Makes Yoon's Questioning Inevitable...
Probe into 'Lobbying Allegations' Faces Delays

Former President Yoon Suk-yeol attended the first trial on charges of "obstruction of special official duties and abuse of authority to interfere with the exercise of rights" held on the 26th of last month at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul. Photo by Joint Press Corps

The special prosecutor team led by Lee Myunghyun, which was launched to investigate the death of a Marine, has been in operation for over 90 days but has failed to secure the custody of key suspects or indict a single individual. As a result, it is considered to have achieved the least among the three special prosecutor teams.

However, the team has managed to confirm that the so-called "VIP outrage," a central suspicion in the case, did in fact occur. Moving forward, the investigation will likely focus on how to legally address the alleged external pressure on the investigation, which arose after former Marine Corps Commandant Kim Gyehwan and other officers were referred to the police for involuntary manslaughter, and the lobbying efforts to protect former Commandant Kim, both of which are believed to have resulted from former President Yoon Seok-yeol's anger.

'VIP Outrage'... Clarifying Facts Behind External Pressure on the Investigation

Although the special prosecutor team has yet to achieve visible results, it has clarified some facts regarding the external pressure on the investigation. It was confirmed that former President Yoon Seok-yeol became enraged during a National Security Office meeting presided over by the president on July 31, 2023, and that his intentions were subsequently conveyed to Colonel Park Junghoon, the head of the investigation team.

Specifically, the team uncovered a series of events following former President Yoon's outrage, including an order to suspend the referral of the case to the police, the retrieval of case records by the Ministry of National Defense's prosecution team, and the booking of Colonel Park for insubordination.

Since last month, the special prosecutor team has accelerated its investigation into higher-level officials suspected of involvement. Former Defense Minister Lee Jongseop has been summoned multiple times as a suspect on charges of abuse of authority, with the team working to establish the facts and conducting legal reviews. Plans are also underway to summon former President Yoon Seok-yeol for questioning. However, since former President Yoon has refused summons from both the Kim Keonhee special prosecutor team and the insurrection special prosecutor team, it remains uncertain whether he will comply with the summons from the Marine special prosecutor team.

Slow Progress on 'Lobbying Allegations'... Investigation Accelerates into Lee Jongseop's 'Ambassador Appointment as Escape'

Former Defense Minister Lee Jongseop appeared as a suspect at the Special Investigation Office for Corporal Chae located in Seocho-gu, Seoul on the 23rd of last month. Photo by Yoon Dongju

The investigation into lobbying allegations, which are linked to former President Yoon's outrage, has been progressing slowly. The core of the lobbying suspicion is that connections within the Protestant community, including former Black Pearl Invest CEO Lee Jongho, who is acquainted with First Lady Kim Keonhee, and Kim Janghwan, Chairman of Far East Broadcasting Company (pastor), were mobilized to help save former 1st Marine Division Commander Lim Sungkeun.

The special prosecutor team notified Pastor Kim three times to appear as a witness, but after he failed to comply, they requested a pretrial witness examination from the court. The team believes Pastor Kim maintained ongoing contact with key public officials around the time of the National Security Office meeting when former President Yoon expressed his outrage. They also confirmed that Pastor Kim met directly with former President Yoon and spoke with former Commander Lim by phone when the Ministry of National Defense was reconsidering the case, indicating his involvement in lobbying efforts and highlighting the need for his testimony.

In response, Pastor Kim's side submitted a statement asserting that although he met with former President Yoon three times between August and September 2023, he had no involvement whatsoever in any lobbying efforts to save former Commander Lim.

In contrast, the investigation into suspicions that former Minister Lee Jongseop was appointed as ambassador to Australia and allowed to leave the country to evade investigation has made significant progress. The special prosecutor team believes that there was collusion at the government level, including appointing Lee as ambassador to Australia in March last year and lifting his travel ban to facilitate his departure.

The team conducted searches and seizures and then summoned Cho Taeyul, then Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jang Hojin, Director of the National Security Office, and Lee Nogong, Vice Minister of Justice, for questioning, reportedly securing a number of meaningful statements.