Parliamentary committee holds hearing on allegations of presidential interference in case of Marine's death last year

A parliamentary committee convened a hearing to look into allegations that the presidential office interfered in a probe of a Marine's death last year.

Lim Seong-geun, far right, the Marine Corps 1st Division commander at the time of the death of a young Marine, attends a parliamentary hearing on Friday. [NEWS1]

A parliamentary committee convened a hearing to address an online petition calling for the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol, scrutinizing allegations that he interfered in an investigation into the death of a Marine last year.

The hearing coincided with the first anniversary of the death of Cpl. Chae Su-geun, but many issues remained unresolved despite the testimony of numerous witnesses.

The case, initially reported as an accidental drowning during a search mission following severe rainfall last summer, generated political controversy after Col. Park Jung-hun, who led the initial investigation, claimed that external pressure was applied on the case.

During the hearing, the Democratic Party (DP) accused the president, the presidential office, the National Security Office and the Defense Ministry of intervening to exonerate Lim Seong-geun, the Marine Corps 1st Division commander at the time of the accident. The party asserted their involvement in efforts to clear Lim in the Marine’s death.

The hearing featured 26 witnesses, but several key figures, including Lee Jong-ho, former head of Blackpearl Invest, who is accused of illegally "lobbying" to remove Lim from suspicion, were absent. A phone recording from last year revealed Lee discussing "talking to the VIP," a reference to first lady Kim Keon Hee, and claiming that he persuaded Lim to remain in his position.

Initially, the commander refused to testify under oath, but later complied during the hearing on Friday. He also indicated a willingness to provide the password to his cell phone, which was seized by the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials in January, though he claimed he "could not remember it."

The hearing also uncovered that Lee visited the Marine Corps 1st Division with a former Presidential Security Service member, challenging Lim's claim that he was unaware of the visit. Lim responded that he was "onboard a vessel" at the time and only learned of the visit one to two months later.

The DP continued to assert that Yoon made a call to various officials on July 31 of last year — the same day a high-level security meeting was held and the Marine Corps' investigation into the death was transferred to the police — suggesting that only the president could have made such a call. In contrast, the People Power Party maintained that neither the presidential office nor the Defense Ministry instructed Park to exclude Lim from suspicion.

BY JUNG JIN-HO,SEO JI-EUN [seo.jieun1@joongang.co.kr]