"'Marine Corps External Pressure' Hot Topic in Government Questioning... Opposition Party Says 'Will Demand Special Prosecutor'"

Choe Kang-wook "Prosecutor's Office Accusation, Special Investigation, National Inquiry 추진"
Park Ju-min "President Behind Changed Position... Must Clarify"
Ha Tae-kyung "Park Jung-hoon Changed Words, Hard to Trust"

The National Assembly will conduct four days of interpellations starting on the 5th with the political sector. The Democratic Party of Korea is pushing for a special investigation into the alleged 'investigation interference' surrounding former Marine Corps Investigation Unit Commander Colonel Park Jeong-hoon, who was booked on charges including insubordination while investigating the death of Corporal Chae. This issue is likely to become a hot topic during the interpellations. Additionally, ideological controversies such as the relocation of the Hong Beom-do bust and Representative Yoon Mi-hyang's attendance at a General Association of Korean Residents in Japan event, as well as the Fukushima contaminated water discharge issue, are expected to spark clashes between the ruling and opposition parties.

On the 5th, Democratic Party lawmaker Choi Kang-wook said on KBS's 'Choi Kyung-young's Strong Current Affairs,' "Within the party, we plan to mobilize all necessary means," adding, "Since all related state agencies are blatantly preparing to coordinate and lie, there is concern about evidence destruction or contamination, so we think an immediate investigation by the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) is necessary, and we plan to file a complaint today."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Former Commander Park is scheduled to be questioned as a complainant by the CIO on the 8th regarding the 'interference allegations.' He previously filed a complaint with the CIO against Defense Ministry Legal Officer Yoo Jae-eun and Defense Ministry Prosecutor Kim Dong-hyuk on charges of 'abuse of authority and obstruction of rights.'

Lawmaker Choi said, "(Regarding investigation interference) the special investigation bill has almost been finalized. We plan to push it forward quickly," adding that since the ruling party is expected to obstruct or oppose the bill, causing delays, in the meantime, to fill the gap, besides the CIO's forced investigation, a parliamentary audit is necessary to inform the public of the seriousness of the matter."

Democratic Party lawmaker Park Joo-min, who is also part of the Marine Corps Death Incident Fact-finding Task Force (TF), said on SBS's 'Kim Tae-hyun's News Show,' "Former Commander Park has become the subject of investigation, and there are statements he submitted to investigative agencies," adding, "Those statements include content suggesting that although the Defense Minister personally signed the death certificate, the position was reversed within just a few hours due to the President's involvement. This needs to be clarified." He also stated that during the interpellations, they will point out issues regarding the purpose of the Military Court Act amendment, the legitimacy of the Defense Minister's orders, and problems in the transfer process.

On the other hand, the ruling party holds the position that it is difficult to trust former Commander Park's statements, which have continuously changed. Ha Tae-kyung, a lawmaker from the People Power Party, said on MBC's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus,' "Looking through former Commander Park's statements, it is hard to trust him," adding, "At first, he said he did not know if it was an order from the Defense Minister and ignored the commander's instruction not to transfer, so he proceeded with the transfer. Later, it was confirmed that it was indeed an order from the Defense Minister. Then he changed his story."

He continued, "How he changed it was by saying, 'The order was unjust, so I could not follow it.' This is different from what he initially said," adding, "He first said he did not know it was an order, then said the content was unjust." Regarding the VIP anger rumor mentioned by former Commander Park, he said, "Unless specific evidence is presented, if the person had built trust, it might be different, but in this situation where he keeps changing his story, it is hard to trust him."

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