As the third anniversary of the death of Corporal Chae Soo-geun approaches, the Marine Corps Reserve Group has announced it will file additional complaints against military officials who allegedly distorted the truth about Chae's case and obstructed the investigation, vowing to hold them accountable.
On July 15, Jeong Won-cheol, chairman of the Marine Corps Reserve Group, and Moon Geon-il, a representative lawyer from Ilro Law Firm, held a press conference at the National Assembly's communication hall. They stated, "Three years have passed since a 20-year-old soldier was thrown into a swift current without a life jacket due to the command's mistakes, yet the investigation has been delayed due to external pressure from the government and organized cover-ups."
They emphasized that since the acquittal of former Marine Corps investigation chief Park Jeong-hoon (then a colonel, now a brigadier general), military officials and operational commanders who allegedly provided false testimony to frame him must face legal consequences.
The Reserve Group claimed there was organized perjury during the trial of Brigadier General Park for insubordination. Former Marine Corps Commander Kim Gye-hwan and former Chief of Staff Kim Hwa-dong have already been indicted for making false statements regarding the 'VIP (President Yoon Suk-yeol) anger theory,' and former Deputy Commander Jeong Jong-beom is under investigation for providing false testimony about the circumstances of his notes.
On this day, the Reserve Group also filed a new complaint against former Public Affairs Chief Yoon Se for allegedly stating that "the reason for Corporal Chae's death was his own fault." Jeong criticized Yoon, saying, "Even if there was undue interference from power, can a soldier abandon his conscience and honor to frame a comrade?"
Additional complaints were also filed regarding actions taken to protect the key suspect in the case, former Marine Division Commander Lim Seong-geun. The Reserve Group accused former Marine Division Chief Ahn Seok of violating laws related to aggravated punishment for specific crimes. Ahn was found to have contacted unit members who were to be interviewed as witnesses in the police investigation, attempting to limit their statements to the investigative agency and controlling the police's search and seizure operations.
Furthermore, former Army 50th Division Commander Moon Byeong-sam, who neglected to prevent soldiers from being deployed into dangerous environments during Corporal Chae's death, was also reported for dereliction of duty.
Jeong mentioned the allegations of lobbying for Lim, stating, "Whether it was through Pastor Kim Jang-hwan or Lee Jong-ho, a co-conspirator in the Deutsche Motors stock manipulation, the comprehensive special investigation and the authorities must investigate without any sanctuary."
He added, "Our fight does not end with punishment. We will restore a just Marine Corps that values the lives of its subordinates more than its own honor."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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