Kim Cheolmoon, Former Gyeongbuk Police Chief, Appears Before Special Prosecutor in Chae Case Over 'Lim Seonggeun Non-referral'

On August 7, the special investigation team led by Special Prosecutor Lee Myunghyun, which is investigating allegations of external pressure in the case of the death of Marine Chae, summoned Kim Cheolmoon, former Chief of the Gyeongbuk Police Agency (currently Chief of the Jeonbuk Police Agency), as a witness.

Kim Cheolmoon, former chief of the Gyeongbuk Police Agency (currently chief of the Jeonbuk Police Agency), who decided not to prosecute after investigating former division commander Lim Seonggeun, is appearing on the 7th as a witness for questioning at the Seoul Seocho-dong Fallen Marine Special Investigation Team. Photo by Yonhap News

At around 1:40 p.m. that day, Chief Kim appeared at the special prosecutor's office in Seocho-dong, Seoul. When asked by reporters whether he had ever received directions or pressure from outside sources regarding the direction of the investigation, he replied, "No. I will cooperate fully with the investigation."

He did not respond to further questions, such as whether there had been any instructions from the presidential office regarding the investigation or whether the National Investigation Headquarters had intervened in the process, and proceeded directly to the interrogation room.

The special investigation team plans to question Chief Kim about whether there was any external pressure or other illegal activities during the Gyeongbuk Police Agency's investigation into the death of Marine Chae.

Chief Kim was appointed as the head of the Gyeongbuk Police Agency in February last year, at the height of the investigation into the death of Marine Chae, and was responsible for announcing the results of the investigation.

On August 2, 2023, the Gyeongbuk Police Agency received case records from the Marine Corps investigation team led by Colonel Park Junghoon, which specified former Division Commander Lim Seonggeun and seven others as suspects for occupational negligence resulting in death. However, after intervention by the presidential office, the case records were returned to the Ministry of National Defense's prosecution team.

On August 21 of the same year, the Ministry of National Defense sent the case records back to the Gyeongbuk Police Agency, this time excluding former Division Commander Lim and others as suspects. After a year-long investigation, the Gyeongbuk Police Agency concluded that former Division Commander Lim was not guilty and decided not to refer the case for prosecution.

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