Yoon acquitted over alleged attempt to help ex-defense minister flee to Australia
The court ruled that Lee Jong-sup's ambassadorial appointment fell within the presidential purview and was not inherently a move to impede an investigation into a Marine's death.
Former President Yoon Suk Yeol sits at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho District, southern Seoul, on July 27 as the court delivers the verdict in his trial on charges of violating the Public Official Election Act.
NEWS1
Former President Yoon Suk Yeol was acquitted of charges that he helped former Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup flee the country while Lee was a suspect in an investigation related to the death of a Marine.
The Seoul Central District Court found Yoon not guilty of charges including harboring or facilitating the escape of an offender, abuse of authority and violating the State Public Officials Act. The special counsel team that investigated the Marine's death had sought a five-year prison sentence for Yoon.
Cpl. Chae Su-geun died in July 2023 while searching for people missing after heavy rains. A Marine Corps investigation subsequently found that senior military officials bore responsibility for the death, but allegations emerged that the presidential office interfered with efforts to refer the findings to police.
At the time, there were also allegations that a "VIP," referring to Yoon, had become enraged over the Marine Corps investigation's findings. Lee, who had spoken directly with Yoon about the case, was later reported to the CIO over allegations of interference in the investigation.
Five others indicted alongside Yoon — former National Security Adviser Cho Tae-yong, former Justice Minister Park Sung-jae, former Vice Justice Minister Shim Woo-jung, former First Vice Foreign Minister Chang Ho-jin and former presidential secretary for public service discipline Lee Si-won — were also acquitted of all charges.
In its ruling, the court found that it could not conclude that Yoon intended to obstruct the investigation into former Defense Minister Lee when he ordered his appointment as ambassador to Australia in November 2023.
"There is room to view it as an exercise of his appointment authority as head of state," the court said. "It cannot be said that the previous ambassador was forced out so that Lee Jong-sup could, colloquially speaking, be 'parachuted into' the post."
The court noted that there was no indication that former Defense Minister Lee had refused to cooperate with the investigation into the Marine's death. It also noted that the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials conducted no investigation into him after he returned from Australia until a special counsel team was launched.
The controversy centered on the former defense minister's appointment as ambassador and his departure for the country in March 2024, while under investigation over alleged interference in the probe into the corporal's death.
Yoon was indicted on charges of ordering Lee's appointment in an effort to help the former defense minister flee to the country. The special counsel team concluded that Yoon pushed for the appointment to prevent the investigation from expanding to Yoon himself.
BY KIM JI-HYE [[email protected]]
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.
