The Truth Behind Corporal Chaesugeun's Case... Suspicions Grow Stronger the More They Are Hidden

Colonel Park Jeong-hoon Exposes External Pressure... Requests Investigation Review Committee

The controversy over alleged external pressure is rapidly spreading following the revelations by former Marine Corps investigation unit commander Colonel Park Jeong-hoon, who was charged with 'leading a collective insubordination' while investigating the death of the late Corporal Chae Su-geun of the Marine Corps.

Previously, Colonel Park was dismissed from his post for violating the Ministry of National Defense's order to 'await police transfer' regarding Corporal Chae's report and was charged with leading collective insubordination.

Colonel Park maintains that the transfer of Corporal Chae's report to the police followed proper legal procedures. On the 11th, he issued a statement saying, "I repeatedly advised the Marine Corps Commander to handle the matter lawfully," and emphasized, "The transfer of the case to the police was reported to the Marine Corps Commander before the transfer, and the case was transferred lawfully accordingly."

Former Marine Corps Investigation Unit Commander Park Jeong-hoon, who was booked on charges of 'leader of collective insubordination' related to the investigation of the late Corporal Chae Soo-geun, is waiting on the 11th in front of the Ministry of National Defense Prosecution Unit in Yongsan-gu, Seoul to make a statement. Photo by Yonhap News

The former investigation unit commander stated, "The Ministry of National Defense prosecution team illegally retrieved case documents that had been lawfully transferred to the police, exerted undue pressure on the investigation, and issued improper orders. As a subordinate organization of the Ministry of National Defense, fair investigation cannot be conducted," and declared, "I clearly reject the investigation by the Ministry of National Defense prosecution team."

Colonel Park's side plans to request the convening of the 'Military Prosecution Investigation Review Committee' on the 14th. This committee is established in cases where 'public suspicion is raised or social attention is focused' to enhance public trust in the procedures and outcomes of military prosecution investigations.

Kim Jeong-min, Colonel Park's legal representative, appeared on MBC Radio's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus' on the 14th and said, "The main point is that this charge (leading collective insubordination) is not even valid, and structurally, the Ministry of National Defense prosecution team lacks fairness in conducting the investigation, so we are requesting a suspension of the investigation or a decision not to prosecute." He added, "Of course, this is not a legally binding judgment but rather a kind of advisory opinion, but we applied because we thought this was the only procedure available."

Attorney Kim explained that the controversy began with the Ministry of National Defense pressuring to remove the part applying charges of professional negligence causing death to eight officers, including Im Seong-geun, commander of the 1st Marine Division. He said, "Interpreting the expression from the Ministry's legal affairs officer, it ultimately means to limit the direct perpetrators, which implies restricting it to field commanders." He added, "In other words, division commanders or brigade commanders should be excluded from the transfer target; this is the only interpretation."

On the 14th, Park Kwang-on, the floor leader, is speaking at the 1st meeting of the Special Committee on Tax and Fiscal Reform of the Democratic Party of Korea held at the National Assembly. Photo by Yonhap News

Voices demanding a thorough investigation are growing in the opposition camp. Park Gwang-on, floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, said at the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly that day, "Distorting the death of a young soldier is not something the state should do to the deceased soldier, their family, or the public," and called for a special investigation to uncover the truth.

Park also pointed out, "Yesterday, the Presidential Office stated, 'We believe that the National Security Office did not intervene in the investigation at all,'" and criticized, "It is an ambiguous stance of 'we believe there was no intervention,' not a clear 'there was no intervention.'"

He continued, "Former Marine Corps investigation unit commander Park Jeong-hoon clearly stated that he received multiple improper demands from the Presidential Office's National Security Office, which is not an investigative agency, to submit the investigation report," emphasizing, "This is a serious abuse of power and a disruption of the national order. We cannot overlook power abuse that undermines the national system."

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