Police Investigate Possible Tampering of Recording in 'Late Sergeant Lee Yeram' Case... Military Human Rights Center Denies Allegations

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyemin] It has been revealed that the police are investigating the possibility of manipulation of the recorded transcript implicating Jeon Ik-su, the Chief Legal Officer of the Air Force Headquarters, in the case following the death of the late Sergeant Lee Yeram.

According to the police on the 3rd, the Mapo Police Station in Seoul is conducting an investigation into whether the transcript related to Sergeant Lee's case, which was released by the Military Human Rights Center in November last year, was manipulated. They have also requested summons for Im Tae-hoon, the director, and other officials of the Military Human Rights Center.

Previously, the Military Human Rights Center disclosed the transcript, claiming it contained evidence that Chief Jeon directed a non-custodial investigation of the perpetrator who sexually harassed Sergeant Lee.

However, Chief Jeon immediately filed a defamation lawsuit against the Military Human Rights Center under the Information and Communications Network Act, asserting that the contents of the transcript were false. He also sued the whistleblower who provided the transcript for forgery and use of forged documents. Since then, the police have been conducting complainant investigations on Chief Jeon and others since December last year.

The Military Human Rights Center refuted this, stating, "We have confirmed that the audio file and the transcript contents are the same." Regarding the summons request, they reportedly sent a statement expressing their intention to await the investigation results from the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) and the special prosecutor.

Sergeant Lee was sexually harassed by a senior non-commissioned officer in March last year and immediately reported it, but tragically took her own life in May of the same year while the military prosecution investigation was ongoing. The bereaved family accused Chief Jeon of abusing his authority by obstructing the arrest investigation of the perpetrator and filed a complaint with the CIO.

Meanwhile, the special prosecutor team assigned to investigate this case is scheduled to begin full-scale operations from the 5th.

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