Air Force Legal Office Chief Becomes a Suspect After 42 Days of Investigation

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] Jeon Ik-su, former head of the Air Force Legal Office, who was identified as the initial investigation officer in the case of the female Air Force non-commissioned officer who died after being sexually harassed, has been reclassified as a suspect.

On the 14th, the Ministry of National Defense prosecution team stated, "On the 9th, we summoned and investigated the Air Force Legal Office head (Jeon Ik-su) suspected of negligence in the investigation related to the death of the Air Force sexual violence victim. After analyzing the results, some charges were confirmed, and he was booked on the 13th for dereliction of duty."

It is also known that Jeon Ik-su was found to have received partial internal investigation information after the Ministry of National Defense began a joint investigation, and if this is confirmed, it is expected to cause considerable controversy.

Along with Jeon, a staff member of the Ministry of National Defense High Military Court also had an arrest warrant requested. The staff member, identified as A, is a civilian employee of the High Military Court and is suspected of transmitting some details of the joint investigation to Jeon via text messages.

Jeon’s reclassification as a suspect came 42 days after the Ministry of National Defense started the joint investigation on the 1st of last month (based on the booking date), and 133 days after the sexual harassment incident occurred.

Jeon, as the head of the Air Force Legal Office, the superior organization overseeing the Air Force 20th Fighter Wing’s military prosecution, which handled the initial investigation of the sexual harassment case in March, was criticized from the start for being unable to escape responsibility for the inadequate investigation. The public defender under investigation for poor defense is also a short-term legal officer belonging to the Air Force Legal Office.

Above all, the general view is that if a victim or suspect involved in the case makes an extreme choice while the investigation is ongoing, the information must be immediately reported up the chain of command.

Furthermore, since Jeon is a key aide responsible for assisting the Air Force Chief of Staff, it must be clarified whether proper reporting was made before and after the victim’s death.

Jeon, who had been under investigation as a person of interest, ignored three summons notices and only appeared belatedly before the joint investigation team on the 9th, the day the interim investigation results were announced. Forensic analysis of his personal items, including his mobile phone, was conducted only recently.

In particular, during the forensic process, it was discovered that Jeon had received partial internal investigation information from the High Military Court civilian employee A via text messages.

The prosecution team has withheld details about the leaked investigation information, but considering that A is a court civilian employee, it is speculated that the information may relate to the contents of the search warrant the prosecution requested from the court.

However, since A does not have the authority to directly access related records in the court’s internal system, the prosecution is reportedly investigating the possibility that A did not act alone.

Jeon is said to be fully denying the related charges.

As the Ministry of National Defense plans to appoint Colonel (Jin) Go Min-sook, head of the Navy Headquarters prosecution team, as a special military prosecutor for the first time on the 19th regarding this case, Colonel Go is expected to focus on clarifying the unresolved inadequate initial investigation and responsibility issues, including Jeon and the Air Force Legal Office’s dereliction of duty charges immediately after her appointment.

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