Former Defense Minister asks CIO to set date for investigation

Yoon Young-duk, co-chairman of the Democratic Alliance for Korea, a proportional representation satellite party of the ruling Democratic Party, holds a press conference in front of the Yongsan presidential office on Sept. 19 to call for the withdrawal of Lee Jong-seop as ambassador to Australia. Yonhap News Agency

South Korea’s Former Defense Minister and new Ambassador to Australia Lee Jong-sup, a key suspect in the “Marine Corporal Chae Su-geun’s death case," submitted an opinion letter on March 19, requesting the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) to set a date for the investigation. It was in response to the ruling camp’s claim to immediately summon Lee, who is out of the country, for an investigation, but the CIO said it was up to the investigation team to decide on a date.

Lee said on the same day that it had submitted a "request for the designation of an investigation date” to the CIO. Lee himself requested the agency to expedite the investigation as the controversy over Lee's appointment as ambassador to Australia and departure from the country continued about 20 days before the general election in April. "If the CIO is willing to investigate, I will return home even tomorrow," Lee said in an interview with KBS on March 17.

The ruling camp argues that the CIO should investigate the former minister as soon as possible. Han Dong-hoon, interim leader of the ruling People's Power Party (PPP), said on the 17th, "The CIO should immediately summon Lee and he should return home immediately." An official from the presidential office said the next day, "If the CIO is in such a hurry, investigate Lee even tomorrow." This means that Lee's appointment as ambassador and departure are not a problem, but the problem is that the CIO did not speed up the investigation.

However, an official from the CIO said that the timeline for Lee’s investigation was "a matter to be decided by the investigation team in consultation with those involved in the case, taking into account the progress of the investigation." In other words, the official drew a line to the presidential office and the ruling party's insistence that Lee be summoned and investigated quickly. Inside and outside legal circles, there is an opinion that it is not right to investigate Lee, who is in the "upper line" at a time when the CIO has not completed the analysis of confiscated materials and investigation of his subordinates.

The CIO also said the "four-hour brief investigation" was done by contacting Lee after learning about the appointment of the ambassador before leaving the country.

In response to the presidential office's statement that Lee appeared voluntarily, an official from the CIO said, "The CIO never issued a subpoena," adding, "We learned of Lee's appointment through media reports, and the investigation department contacted Lee accordingly."

※This article has undergone review by a professional translator after being translated by an AI translation tool.