'Private Chae Special Prosecutor Suspect' Lee Jongseop Appears for Detention Review... Six Others Including Lim Sungkeun Face Hearings This Afternoon

Seven Key Suspects in Private Chae Special Probe Face Detention Hearings Today
Lee Jongseop Charged with Abuse of Authority; Lim Sungkeun with Occupational Negligence Resulting in Death
Detention Decisions Expected as Early as Tonight

Lee Jongseop, former Minister of National Defense and a key suspect in the special prosecutor Lee Myunghyun’s investigation into the death of Private Chae and allegations of external pressure and cover-up, appeared in court for a detention warrant review. The decision on whether to detain Lee and six other major suspects, including Lim Sungkeun, former commander of the 1st Marine Division, for whom the special prosecutor’s team has also requested arrest warrants, is expected as early as tonight.

Former Defense Minister Lee Jongseop is entering the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu on the 23rd for a pretrial detention hearing. 2023.10.23 Photo by Yoon Dongju

Jeong Jaewook, the judge in charge of warrants at the Seoul Central District Court, began the substantive review of the warrant for Lee at 10:10 a.m. on October 23, on charges including abuse of authority and obstruction of the exercise of rights.

Previously, on October 20, the special prosecutor’s team led by Lee Myunghyun requested a detention warrant for Lee on six charges, including intervening to prevent the initial investigation results by the Marine Corps Investigation Team into Private Chae’s death from being transferred to the police, while overseeing national defense affairs at the time.

The special prosecutor’s team believes that Lee was involved in a series of actions, such as the dismissal and insubordination investigation of Park Junghoon, then head of the Marine Corps Investigation Team, the transfer of the case to the Ministry of National Defense Investigation Headquarters, and pressuring the headquarters to downplay the results. According to the team, between July 31, 2023-when former President Yoon Sukyeol reportedly became enraged after receiving the initial investigation results-and August 2, when the Ministry of National Defense retrieved the case records that had been transferred to the police, Lee began issuing instructions to withhold and retrieve the case, exerting external pressure throughout the process.

From 1:00 p.m. on the same day, substantive warrant reviews will also be held for Park Jinhee, former military aide at the Ministry of National Defense; Kim Donghyuk, former head of the military prosecution; Yoo Jaeun, former legal affairs director; and Kim Gyehwan, former Marine Corps commander. These individuals are suspected of being involved at various stages, including the transfer or retrieval of the case to and from the police and the investigation into Colonel Park Junghoon’s insubordination, in connection with allegations of external pressure on the investigation.

On October 21, arrest warrants were also requested for Lim, the former division commander, and Choi Jingyu, former commander of the 11th Marine Artillery Battalion, in connection with Private Chae’s death. Their substantive warrant reviews will be presided over by Judge Lee Jeongjae in the afternoon.

Lim, the former division commander, was the superior officer of Private Chae, who died in the line of duty during flood rescue operations in Yecheon-gun, North Gyeongsang Province, on July 19, 2023. He is charged with occupational negligence resulting in death for ordering a risky search operation without providing life jackets and other safety equipment. He was initially named as a suspect in the Marine Corps Investigation Team’s preliminary probe but was removed from the suspect list after the so-called “VIP outrage.” There are also allegations that Kim Keonhee, wife of former President Yoon Sukyeol, may have exerted influence during this process as part of lobbying efforts to exonerate him.

The special prosecutor’s team decided to request a detention warrant for Lim, citing significant concerns about destruction of evidence and witness tampering, as he is believed to have repeatedly attempted to influence subordinates’ statements and obstruct the investigation from the time of the incident until recently.

This is the first time that arrest warrants for as many as seven individuals have been requested in bulk over two days among the three ongoing special prosecutor investigations (insurrection, Kim Keonhee, and Private Chae). The outcome of today’s warrant decisions is expected to determine the direction and pace of the special prosecutor’s investigation going forward.