9 months into the investigation… 2 hurdles to overcome
Securing direct call records between Yoon and Lee Jong-seop
No specific conversations or instructions revealed
Challenges in overcoming legal obstacles such as abuse of authority,
Reserve marines saluting towards the graves of their comrades at the National Seoul Cemetery in Dongjak-gu, Seoul on the morning of the 2nd. The High-Ranking Officials’ Crimes Investigation Office (HRCIO) continues its 9-month investigation into the case of Corporal Cha. Yonhap News,
, ‘The High-Ranking Officials’ Crimes Investigation Office, investigating the ‘Cha Sang-byung case’ for 9 months, faces two major hurdles in clarifying allegations of interference from higher-ups. The challenges include securing concrete evidence such as call records and uncovering specific instructions, as well as constructing the complex legal elements required to prove abuse of authority. The burden on the HRCIO to swiftly investigate the case, especially after the Democratic Party submitted the ‘Cha Sang-byung Special Prosecutor Law’ on the first day of the 22nd National Assembly on May 30, is increasing.’,
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, ‘According to legal circles on the 2nd, since receiving the complaint alleging outside pressure in the ‘Cha Sang-byung case’ last August, the HRCIO conducted search and seizure operations in January involving the Ministry of National Defense and others. Starting from April, they have been investigating key figures such as Yoo Jae-eun, the legal manager of the Ministry of National Defense, and Kim Gye-hwan, the Marine Corps commander. They have also secured various pieces of circumstantial evidence supporting the ‘VIP (President) anger theory’ that was identified as the starting point of the outside pressure allegations. They obtained audio files of conversations between Kim and senior Marine Corps officials regarding the VIP anger theory from Kim’s mobile phone. Former Marine Corps chief investigator Park Jeong-hoon previously testified to the HRCIO that he heard about the anger theory from Kim.’,
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, ‘In particular, the HRCIO has also obtained records of direct calls between President Yoon Suk-yeol and former Minister of National Defense Lee Jong-seop, starting from July 31 last year, around the time the Ministry of National Defense took back the ‘Cha Sang-byung case’ from the police on August 2.’,
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, ‘There are conflicting opinions regarding the reversal of the exclusion of former Marine Corps 1st Division Commander Im Seong-geun from his duties. It was reported that the Marine Corps decided to send Im back on the morning of July 31 last year. Im received a call from the presidential office starting with ’02-800′ at 11:54 am that day and spoke for 2 minutes and 48 seconds. Following the call, the former minister instructed Im to return. Questions have been raised about whether there was a legitimate reason to instruct Im to return.’,
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, ‘However, legal circles evaluate that the call records obtained by the HRCIO are indirect circumstantial evidence. Specific conversations and instructions between the parties have not been revealed yet. Kim, who was pointed out by former chief investigator Park as the intermediary for the anger theory, denies these facts. It is considered difficult to use these as substantive legal evidence.’,
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, ‘The key issue is whether concrete evidence can be obtained to prove that President Yoon gave unlawful instructions along with his anger outburst. A lawyer mentioned, “It is difficult to prove with only testimonies. Similar to the case of the corruption scandal, they should find a work journal with President’s instructions, if any.”.’,
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, ‘Overcoming legal obstacles is also a task. For abuse of authority to be established, the recipient of the instructions must infringe upon rights or perform tasks that are not legally required. However, according to the amended Military Court Act, the military police do not have investigation authority in cases of death within the military. Since the Marine Corps investigation team did not have initial investigation authority, even if there were instructions to narrow down suspects, the alleged crimes may not be substantiated, according to the former minister’s side. A lawyer who is a former presiding judge mentioned that it is a “part where legal disputes are possible.”‘,
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, ‘In’].