Ex-presidential aide faces detention over alleged leak regarding probe of young Marine's death
A Seoul court held a hearing to determine whether to detain former presidential aide Lee Shi-won over allegations he leaked details about the investigation into the death of Marine Cpl. Chae Su-geun.
Lee Shi-won, former secretary to the president for public office discipline, arrives at the Seoul Central District Court in southern Seoul on July 15.NEWS1
A Seoul court on Wednesday convened a hearing to determine whether to detain a former presidential aide accused of leaking investigative information about the death of Marine Cpl. Chae Su-geun.
A pretrial detention hearing for Lee Shi-won, former secretary to the president for public office discipline, has been underway at the Seoul Central District Court in southern Seoul since 10:10 a.m.
“I will faithfully explain my position,” Lee told reporters as he arrived at the courthouse shortly before 10 a.m., when asked whether he had passed details of a planned search and seizure to the National Security Office and whether he admitted the allegations.
Kim Chi-heon, an assistant special counsel on the team led by Special Counsel Kwon Chang-young, attended the hearing.
The special counsel team is investigating allegations that the then-presidential office interfered in the military's investigation into the death of Marine Cpl. Chae, who drowned while conducting a search and rescue mission during heavy rain and flooding in North Gyeongsang in July 2023.
“July 19 marks the third anniversary of Cpl. Chae's death,” Kim said. “We believe the suspect meets every requirement for detention, including the seriousness of the alleged crime, the risk of destroying evidence and the risk of flight. We also believe there is a risk of reoffending and of harming witnesses.”
Kim added that the special counsel team had separately met with Chae's parents.
The special counsel said Chae's family had expressed anxiety over the possibility that the defendant could attempt to shape public opinion through media coverage and other channels.
Lee is accused of receiving advance notice in September 2023 that the Gyeongbok Provincial Police Agency — with jurisdiction over North Gyeongsang — planned to execute a search and seizure of the 1st Marine Division as part of its investigation into the death of the late Marine corporal. Lee allegedly relayed that information to the Marine Corps officials before the police probe.
Flowers are seen in front of the grave of Marine Cpl. Chae Su-geun at the Daejeon National Cemetery on Nov. 21, 2025.KIM SUNG-TAE
The National Office of Investigation under the National Police Agency had shared the search plan with staff at the presidential office’s public office discipline, investigators found.
The special counsel believes Lee passed the information to officials at the National Security Office after being briefed on the search plan. The information is then believed to have been passed through the Ministry of National Defense before reaching the Marine Corps.
This is the first time the comprehensive special counsel team has sought to detain a suspect in its investigation into the Chae case.
The earlier Marine Corps special counsel team traced the flow of the investigative updates. They found that the information moved from the National Office of Investigation to the presidential office, then the Defense Ministry and finally the Marine Corps. The earlier special counsel team’s probe ended in November of last year.
Investigators also suspected that Lee may have received the investigative information at the direction of former President Yoon Suk Yeol, but they were unable to substantiate that allegation.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
