Lee Jae-myung "Marine Corps Member Death Concealment... Yoon, Respond to Allegations of External Pressure"

'Marine Corps Member Death Incident' Presidential Office Pressure Allegation Raised
Lee "Denied Receiving Report... Chief Secretary-Commander Phone Call"
Emphasis on Special Prosecutor Handling... Democratic Party Fast-Track Designation in October

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, criticized allegations of external pressure and concealment attempts by the Presidential Office during the investigation of the Marine Corps member's death case, urging "President Yoon Seok-yeol to take responsibility and resolve the issue."

At the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 15th, Lee pointed out, "There are reports that the military prosecutor did not submit to the trial the testimony of a military prosecutor claiming that there was presidential pressure related to the concealment allegations of the Marine Corps member's death case." During the search for missing persons amid heavy rains this summer, a Marine Corps member was swept away by a rapid current and died. Park Jeong-hoon, former head of the Marine Corps investigation team (colonel), who investigated the case, was non-custodially indicted on charges including insubordination for disobeying orders from superiors to withhold the case transfer. The first trial was held on the 7th.

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is speaking at the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 15th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

Lee stated, "Contrary to the Presidential Office's claim that they received no reports from the military, it was confirmed that the Chief of Presidential Staff and the (Marine Corps) Commander spoke on the phone immediately after the case was transferred," and repeatedly criticized, "You cannot cover the sky with your palm, nor can you block the eyes and ears of the people."

He added, "The Democratic Party will definitely resolve the injustice suffered by the Marine Corps sergeant who was unfairly sacrificed while fulfilling his national defense duty," emphasizing, "We will do our best to thoroughly investigate the truth and prepare measures to prevent recurrence."

Lee also reaffirmed his intention for a special prosecution team ('special prosecutor') to uncover the truth of this case. He said, "President Yoon Seok-yeol must answer the public's questions about external pressure," and urged, "The ruling party should not focus on concealing the truth but join efforts to promptly pass the special prosecutor law." He added, "That is the minimum duty owed to the Marine Corps member who died unjustly and to the people."

Meanwhile, the Democratic Party designated the special prosecutor law for investigating the Marine Corps member's death case as a fast-track bill at the National Assembly plenary session in October. The fast-track process typically involves a maximum review period of 240 days before a vote, which would occur after the 21st National Assembly ends, in June next year. If the vote is not held by that time, the bill will be automatically discarded.

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