Cho Tae-yong: "There Is No Fact That I Reported the Chaesangbyeong Incident to the President"

"No Security Office Policy on Relocating Hong Beom-do Bust"

National Security Office Chief Cho Tae-yong stated on the 30th regarding the Ministry of National Defense and the Korea Military Academy's plan to relocate the bust of General Hong Beom-do, "The Security Office does not have any specific policy on this," adding, "The Minister of National Defense will take the lead in making the decision."
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Cho Tae-yong, Director of the National Security Office, denied allegations on the 30th that President Yoon Seok-yeol was directly involved in handling the case of Marine Corporal Chae Mo's death in the line of duty.

On the same day, during the plenary meeting of the National Assembly's Steering Committee, Cho responded to a question from Min Byung-duk of the Democratic Party of Korea asking, "Did you report this case to the President at the Chief Secretary meeting on July 31?" by saying, "There is no such fact."

Cho stated, "The Minister of National Defense and the Commander of the Marine Corps already said no at the National Defense Committee of the National Assembly," adding, "I think that can serve as an answer."

He further explained, "The National Security Office sent a condolence letter from the President to express sympathy to Corporal Chae's family, visited to pay respects, sent a wreath, and applied for a commendation. That is what the National Security Office did."

When asked if he had ever spoken on the phone with Defense Minister Lee Jong-seop, Cho replied, "I have both called and received calls."

However, he clarified, "We discussed various security issues, but not this case." He added, "I only obtained and reviewed the media briefing materials and never instructed to revise or correct them."

Regarding the relocation of General Hong Beom-do's bust by the Ministry of National Defense and the Korea Military Academy, Cho said, "The National Security Office does not have any policy on this," and "The Defense Minister will lead and make the decision."

Cho explained, "No one denies the merits of General Hong Beom-do's life before the 'Free City Incident,' but the Ministry of National Defense is reviewing whether it is appropriate to reconcile that with the fact that after the 'Free City Incident,' the Korea Military Academy is a special place where cadets salute daily and look up to role models."

The 'Free City Incident' refers to the event in June 1921 when the Far Eastern Republic's army of the Russian Communist Party annihilated the independence army in Free City. The Ministry of National Defense has raised suspicions related to General Hong in this context.

In response to Assemblyman Seo's remark that "different standards set by each administration should not confuse the public," Cho said, "Actually, I think it would have been better if these issues had been filtered and opinions gathered before erecting the bust in 2018."

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