Special Prosecutor for Internal Affairs: "Osan Base Search Unrelated to U.S. Military"

President Trump Raises Issue of 'U.S. Military Base' Search Before Summit
Special Prosecutor: "Search Only Targeted Materials Managed by Korean Military, Unrelated to U.S. Forces"

Seoul High Prosecutors' Office in Seocho-gu, Seoul, where the Special Investigation Office for Internal Affairs is established.

The Special Prosecutor's Office for Internal Affairs (Special Prosecutor Cho Eunseok) stated that its search and seizure of the Osan U.S. military base was "unrelated to the U.S. military."

President Trump, ahead of the South Korea-U.S. summit the previous day (local time), posted on the social networking service Truth Social, "What is happening in Korea?" and added, "It looks like a purge or a revolution." When reporters asked about the meaning of this post, he replied, "I heard that in recent days, there have been raids on churches in Korea and very aggressive raids by the new Korean government. I also heard that they even entered our military base to collect information."

In response, Special Prosecutor Park Jiyoung explained at a briefing on the 26th, "The search and seizure conducted on July 21 at the (Air Force) Master Control and Reporting Center (MCRC) within Osan Base only targeted materials managed by Korean military personnel, collected through Korean reconnaissance assets." He added, "It was carried out with the approval of the Air Defense Commanding General, who is responsible for the control center."

He continued, "The materials seized are managed solely by the Korean military and have no connection whatsoever to the U.S. military," and added, "Although we have explained this repeatedly, we believe some reports have not reflected the facts."

He also stated, "To my knowledge, there have been no objections or protests from the U.S. military regarding the search and seizure," and continued, "If the information was collected solely through Korean reconnaissance assets, consultation with the U.S. military would not be necessary. However, if it had been a matter requiring consultation under the U.S. Forces Korea Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) or similar regulations, the Air Defense Commanding General, as the responsible party, would have obtained approval through such consultation."

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