Marine Corps Investigation Unit Chief Ultimately Detained by Force

Military Prosecution Executes Arrest Warrant for Former Director Park

Former Marine Corps Investigation Unit Commander Colonel Park Jeong-hoon, who was booked on charges including insubordination while investigating the death of Marine Corporal Chae Mo, was forcibly detained on the 1st.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Park and his legal representatives arrived at the Seoul Yongsan Central Regional Military Court around 9:30 a.m. for the warrant hearing scheduled at 10 a.m. Marines who served with Park gathered in front of the military court entrance, singing the Marine Corps song "Palgakmo Sanai" to show their support. However, when the military court did not open the entrance that leads directly into the courthouse, Park and his legal team refused to enter, demanding the door be opened.

The legal team explained that the military court closed the entrance door, which is usually open during regular trials, and required entry through the Ministry of National Defense guard post, demanding attendance through the Ministry of National Defense prosecution team. Typically, during a warrant hearing, the prosecutor executes the detention warrant and brings the defendant to court together, but until then, the military prosecution had not executed the warrant.

Accordingly, Park and his legal team believed they could attend the court voluntarily, but claimed the military court restricted their attendance by not opening the entrance door.

Around noon, riot police were deployed near the back gate of the Ministry of National Defense, and the military prosecution executed the detention warrant, forcibly detaining Park, who was in the civil affairs office. Park was then taken by military prosecution investigators to the Central Regional Military Court next to the Ministry of National Defense prosecution office.

Before the warrant was executed, Park told opposition lawmakers and reporters, "The essence of this matter is Corporal Chae’s death, so please do not focus only on me," adding, "I want to keep my promise to ensure there is no injustice regarding Corporal Chae’s death."

As a result, the warrant hearing originally scheduled for 10 a.m. was postponed to 10:30 a.m. amid the standoff at the entrance, and then rescheduled again to 1:30 p.m. The results of Park’s warrant hearing are expected to be announced later that day.

On the 30th of last month, Park reported to Defense Minister Lee Jong-seop that he would transfer eight related personnel, including Im Seong-geun, commander of the Marine 1st Division, to civilian police on charges of negligent homicide. Minister Lee signed Park’s investigation report but instructed the next day not to transfer the investigation results to the police. However, on the 2nd, Park transferred the investigation results to the Gyeongbuk Police Agency, and the Ministry of National Defense prosecution team retrieved the case materials from the police and booked Park on charges of 'leading collective insubordination.' Subsequently, his charges were changed to 'insubordination' and 'defamation of superior' against Defense Minister Lee Jong-seop.

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