Seo Wook: "I Learned of the Female Sergeant's Death on the Day of the Incident"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter]Defense Minister Seo Wook revealed that on the day an Air Force non-commissioned officer who was a victim of sexual harassment was found dead, he initially recognized it as a 'simple death case.' This is two days earlier than the previously known date when Minister Seo reportedly received the first report on the 24th.

Minister Seo stated in a briefing at the National Assembly's Defense Committee on the morning of the 9th, "On May 22, I became aware of a 'simple death case' posted in the SNS situation sharing chatroom."

May 22 was the day Sergeant Lee was found dead at the residence of the 20th Fighter Wing. At that time, it is reported that a Defense Ministry investigation headquarters official shared the fact of Sergeant Lee's death as a simple death case in the Telegram situation sharing chatroom used by key officials including the minister.

Minister Seo continued, "On May 24, I received a formal written report categorizing it as a 'victim simple death case,' and on May 25, I was first informed that this case was related to sexual harassment. Subsequently, I ordered a strict investigation including the Air Force's secondary harm."

It is especially known that neither the initial SNS report on the 22nd nor the formal written report from the investigation headquarters on the 24th included that Sergeant Lee was a victim of a sexual harassment case.

The Defense Ministry stated, "Minister Seo had not received any individual reports related to this case through the chain of command before the 24th, but on the 22nd, an investigation headquarters official shared it as a simple death case in the SNS chatroom used by key officials including the minister."

Previously, a Defense Ministry official also revealed that the Air Force military police reported the case to the Defense Ministry investigation headquarters on May 23, the day after Sergeant Lee was found dead, only as a 'simple death' case. The report included only basic outlines such as the circumstances of the death discovery, on-site inspection results, autopsy, and funeral arrangements, but did not include any details of the victim's harassment.

In cases of sexual violence, related information is supposed to be reported together upon death, but this protocol was not followed.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.