Sergeant Lee Yeram's Family: "Special Investigation Results Show Progress but Also Regrets"

An Mi-young, the special prosecutor investigating allegations of a botched investigation in the late Sergeant Lee Ye-ram case, is answering questions after announcing the investigation results on the 13th in Seocho-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Seung-yoon] The family of the late Air Force Sergeant Lee Ye-ram expressed mixed feelings regarding the results released by the special investigation team led by Special Prosecutor Ahn Mi-young after investigating Sergeant Lee Ye-ram's death case. While there were achievements such as uncovering secondary damage and revealing the truth, they expressed regret over limitations, including the failure to identify higher-ups involved.

On the 13th, Sergeant Lee’s family, along with the Military Human Rights Center and the Catholic Human Rights Committee, issued a statement saying, "There are some regrets about the special prosecutor’s investigation results," but also noted, "As the first special prosecutor to investigate the military, it uncovered the entire tragic process in the closed military environment that drove sexual violence victims to death."

The family evaluated the following as major achievements: ▲ confirmation of a solid cartel within the military judicial system and illegal acts rampant among them ▲ the indictment of Jeon Ik-su, the legal officer of the Air Force Headquarters, who was at the center of suspicions regarding the initial investigation’s inadequacy ▲ the revelation of the substantial truth about the secondary damage Sergeant Lee suffered. On the other hand, they pointed out limitations such as the failure to clarify why the sexual assault perpetrator was investigated without detention immediately after the incident, and that only one public relations officer was indicted in relation to the false information spread that Sergeant Lee’s death was due to marital discord rather than sexual assault. They also mentioned regret that the investigation did not reach higher levels.

The family stated, "Former Officer Jeon and his lawyer frequently leaked claims that ‘Sergeant Lee died for reasons other than sexual assault and secondary damage,’ damaging the honor of the deceased and the family," adding, "The special prosecutor’s investigation has a serious limitation in not uncovering the motives behind actively spreading false information and holding those responsible accountable."

The special investigation team has been investigating for the past 100 days the case in which Sergeant Lee Ye-ram of the Air Force’s 20th Fighter Wing reported being sexually assaulted by Senior Sergeant Jang Mo and took her own life two months later, focusing on the military’s inadequate investigation and allegations of cover-up. Since the investigation began in March last year, the special prosecutor’s team reviewed about 50,000 pages of records handed over from the Ministry of National Defense and others, conducted 18 search and seizure operations, and questioned a total of 164 people. As a result, seven people, including former Officer Jeon, were prosecuted.

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