Commander of 20th Military Police Battalion Booked on Charges... Bereaved Family Holds First Press Conference Today

Citizens are visiting the condolence altar at the Armed Forces Capital Hospital in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, on the 6th to pay their respects to the late Sergeant Lee, who endured sexual violence by a senior officer and attempts at persuasion within the Air Force before taking her own life. / Seongnam = Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] The battalion commander of the military police at the 20th Fighter Wing, who was in charge of the initial investigation of the Air Force female sergeant sexual harassment case, has been criminally charged.

On the 28th, the investigation headquarters stated through a text notice to the Ministry of National Defense press corps, "We have been organizing the investigation results and plan to transfer all case records to the Ministry of National Defense prosecution team by today", they added.

The investigation headquarters reported at the military prosecution investigation review committee held on the 25th that the battalion commander of the 20th Fighter Wing military police would be referred to the disciplinary committee, but the committee suggested that the battalion commander, who was to be referred for discipline, should also be criminally charged for dereliction of duty. Accordingly, it appears that the investigation headquarters accepted the committee's opinion and decided to file criminal charges.

However, the bereaved family of Air Force Sergeant Lee, who made an extreme choice after the sexual harassment, additionally sued the battalion commander and company commander of the 15th Special Mission Wing, who are suspects, along with the operations control room chief and radar maintenance team leader, so the number of suspects is expected to increase.

The sergeant's father will hold a press conference at 10:30 a.m. at the Armed Forces Capital Hospital in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province.

He is expected to express his position on the investigation by the Ministry of National Defense Investigation Headquarters and the Ministry of National Defense prosecution team, as well as the audit progress by the Ministry of National Defense Inspector General's Office. This is the first time the bereaved family has publicly expressed their position directly regarding the ongoing military investigation and audit. As of the 25th, according to the Ministry of National Defense's investigation and audit clarifying the sexual harassment, secondary victimization, and command reporting system related to Sergeant Lee, there are a total of 19 suspects involved.

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