[2023 National Audit] Ongoing Dispute Over 'Chae Sang-byeong'... Opposition Demands Special Investigation, Ruling Party Calls Democratic Party 'Irrational'

National Assembly Judiciary Committee Military Court Audit
Opposition Emphasizes Need for 'Chae Sang-byeong Special Prosecutor'
Ruling Party: "No External Pressure, Constitutes Insurrection"

On the 16th, during the National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee's military court audit, the ruling and opposition parties clashed over the Marine Corps 'Sergeant Chaesangbyeong investigation external pressure suspicion.' The Democratic Party of Korea pointed out parts of the government's explanation that were hard to understand and urged for a 'special prosecutor,' while the People Power Party countered that there was no problem starting from the 'transfer suspension order,' which was the trigger of the incident.

Democratic Party lawmaker Lee Tan-hee questioned Defense Minister Shin Won-sik, saying, "During last Chuseok, KBS, together with Korea Research, asked the public whether a special prosecutor was necessary for the Marine Corps Sergeant Chaesangbyeong case, and 61.1% responded that it was necessary, while 32.3% said it was not. That's almost twice as many," and asked, "Why did such a result come out?"

Earlier in July, Sergeant Chae died during a search operation for missing persons caused by flooding, and while an investigation into those responsible was underway, Marine Corps investigation team leader Colonel Park Jeong-hoon violated the transfer suspension order and transferred investigation materials to the police. The Ministry of National Defense criticized Colonel Park's actions and dismissed him from his post on charges of insubordination. However, the opposition party viewed the transfer suspension order as external pressure intended to downplay the incident.

Minister Shin denied the need for a special prosecutor. He said, "It is difficult to speculate on the cause of the public opinion poll," but added, "The cause leading to Sergeant Chae's death is being investigated by the Gyeongbuk Provincial Police Agency, the external pressure issue by the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials, and the insubordination issue by the military prosecution. Since investigations and trials are underway, I believe it is perfectly fine to uncover the facts within the normal military and civilian judicial system."

In response, lawmaker Lee said, "If the process is proceeding normally, why don't the people trust it?" and emphasized, "Because the Ministry of National Defense and the government have made too many unreasonable claims related to this issue, they have made statements that disregard the public."

On the other hand, lawmakers from the People Power Party refuted each suspicion related to the Sergeant Chaesangbyeong case, asserting "there is no problem."

People Power Party lawmaker Yoo Sang-beom criticized the suspicion that the government exerted external pressure to downplay and conceal the investigation in the Sergeant Chaesangbyeong case, saying, "External pressure on an investigation means applying pressure to omit important facts in the investigation," and added, "Since all facts were transferred, the Democratic Party's unreasonable claim that external pressure was exerted just because the transfer suspension was ordered should stop now. This is close to agitation."

He also rebutted the 'insubordination' suspicion against then Marine Corps investigation team leader Colonel Park Jeong-hoon, who violated the transfer suspension order and transferred the case to the police. People Power Party lawmaker Jang Dong-hyuk said, "Before a proper investigation was even conducted, the legal evaluation of what to do changed, and a suspension order was received from the minister or commander. There did not seem to be any special circumstances that required waiting a day or two until the minister returned, yet the transfer was made by disobeying the minister's order and based on an independent, arbitrary judgment."

He continued, "Because of this problem, instead of resolving it through normal procedures and methods within the military, a uniformed soldier ran to the media. As a result, the military's honor was severely damaged," and said, "I hope the minister considers this as a reference when thinking about how to restore discipline within the military organization in the future."

In response, the opposition party pointed out the ruling party lawmakers' remarks about Colonel Park and reiterated the need for a special prosecutor. Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Seung-won said, "I feel very sorry for the People Power Party lawmakers who continue to criticize Colonel Park Jeong-hoon, who sincerely investigated so that there would be no injustice regarding Sergeant Chaesangbyeong," and added, "I hope the Sergeant Chaesangbyeong case will be revealed through a special prosecutor." The special prosecutor bill for the truth investigation of the Sergeant Chaesangbyeong death case was designated as a fast-track bill by the Democratic Party's sole approval in the National Assembly plenary session last month.

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