22 People Related to Lee Jung-sa Incident Booked

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] Twenty-two individuals related to the late Sergeant Lee, who made an extreme choice after being sexually harassed, have been booked, and among them, 10 have been brought to trial.

According to the interim investigation results announced by the Ministry of National Defense prosecution team on the 9th, besides six individuals who have already been removed from their posts, the prosecution plans to request the removal from duty of nine others, including the commander of the Air Force 20th Fighter Wing, Sergeant Lee’s original unit, where the sexual harassment and secondary victimization occurred.

Sixteen people, including the Air Force Headquarters Military Police Commander (Colonel), who omitted the fact of sexual violence, and the head of the Air Force Headquarters Gender Equality Center, who delayed reporting, were judged to have committed serious negligence and will be referred to the disciplinary committee separately from criminal punishment.

The prosecution’s investigation confirmed that many suspicions such as inadequate investigation and concealment of the incident during the handling process from the 20th Fighter Wing to the Air Force Headquarters were substantially true.

In particular, on May 22, the day Sergeant Lee’s death was discovered, although a normal report was made to then Air Force Chief of Staff Lee Seong-yong, two individuals, including the Military Police Commander and the Central Investigation Unit Chief, were brought to trial on charges of omitting the forced molestation fact to the Ministry of National Defense investigation headquarters and falsely reporting it as a "simple accidental death case." Severe disciplinary action against them is also expected to be unavoidable.

This announcement came 38 days after the Ministry of National Defense took over the case from the Air Force on the 1st of last month and launched a large-scale investigation.

Although the Ministry of National Defense’s announcement on this day is an interim investigation result, there are also criticisms that the military prosecution investigation has its "limits."

In particular, the investigation into the Air Force Headquarters Legal Office, identified as the "upper echelon" of the initial investigation, has made virtually no progress. All personnel in the Legal Office are currently in the status of "persons under investigation."

The prosecution team conducted a search and seizure of the office and mobile phones of Jeon Ik-su, head of the Air Force Headquarters Legal Office, on the 16th of last month, but as of this day, the 24th day, no summons or forensic examination has been conducted.

For this reason, the core details such as what reports the Air Force prosecution, the superior organization, received and what instructions were given during the initial investigation by the 20th Fighter Wing military prosecution were not included in the interim investigation results announcement.

Park Jae-min, Deputy Minister of National Defense, bowed his head before the announcement of the investigation results this morning, saying, "I bow my head and apologize to the deceased, who could not fully realize their dreams as a soldier due to unbearable pain, and to the bereaved families, and express my deepest condolences."

Choi Kwang-hyuk, head of the Ministry of National Defense prosecution team, said, "We will thoroughly investigate the remaining additional suspicious parts to uncover the truth of the case," and added, "For matters that cannot be prosecuted, we will confirm the facts of misconduct so that appropriate punishment corresponding to the responsibility can be imposed, and proceed with procedures such as removal from duty and disciplinary action."

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