The Special Prosecutors' Team, led by Kwon Chang-young, has charged four individuals, including former Gyeongsangbuk-do Police Chief Choi Joo-won, with obstruction of justice and leaking information related to the death of Marine Chae Soo-geun.
On August 13, the Special Prosecutors announced that they have charged Choi and former Gyeongbuk Police Investigation Division Chief Noh Gyu-ho with abuse of authority, while former Presidential Office Civil Affairs Secretary Lee Si-won and former National Security Office Defense Secretary Lim Gi-hoon were charged with leaking official secrets, all without detention.
According to the Special Prosecutors, Choi and Noh were aware that the case records related to the Chae incident had been legally transferred to the Gyeongbuk Police under the revised Military Court Act, yet they received the records from the Ministry of National Defense's prosecution office. The Special Prosecutors concluded that they abused their authority to obstruct the investigation by the Gyeongbuk Police's serious crime investigation unit.
Lee and Lim are accused of leaking the investigation plan just before the Gyeongbuk Police's raid on the Marine Corps' 1st Division on September 7, 2023. The Special Prosecutors believe that Lee, having received the search warrant plan from a National Investigation Agency official, passed it to Lim, who then leaked it to officials at the Ministry of National Defense, ultimately informing the Marine Corps.
The Special Prosecutors stated, "We conducted a thorough investigation based on testimonies and evidence and have charged the individuals accordingly. We will make every effort to prove the charges in the upcoming trial proceedings."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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