Military court acquits Colonel Park Jung-hoon of charge of disobedience in ‘Private Chae investigation’

Park Jung-hoon, a former Marine Corps investigation chief indicted on charges of defying orders and defaming a superior in connection with the investigation into the death of Corporal Chae Soo-geun, who died in the line of duty, was found not guilty in the first trial. On January 9th, the Central Regional Military Court delivered this verdict in the first trial sentencing hearing. Colonel Park was indicted by the Ministry of National Defense’s prosecution team on October 6, 2023, for alleged insubordination by not complying with the then Marine Corps Commander Kim Gye-hwan’s order to withhold the transfer of the investigation results of Corporal Chae’s death to civilian police, which occurred on July 19, 2023. Previously, on November 21 of the previous year, the military prosecution had requested a three-year imprisonment, which is the maximum statutory penalty for insubordination during peacetime under the Military Criminal Act, during the final trial.