A South Korean marine colonel who confronted costs of insubordination and defamation after accusing President Yoon Suk-yeol of whitewashing his investigation into the loss of life of a marine was acquitted by a navy court docket on Thursday.
A public uproar about the case of Colonel Park Jung-hun rocked South Korea for months final 12 months, prompting opposition lawmakers to introduce a invoice to nominate a particular prosecutor to research his allegations. The political confrontation intensified as Mr Yun vetoed the invoice thrice and the opposition threatened to question him.
Mr. Yoon ultimately was impeachment from the opposition-dominated Nationwide Meeting, however for a unique cause: his six-hour imposition of martial legislation final month, throughout which he was accused of sending troops into the meeting, which he mentioned had tried to paralyze his authorities. He was additionally accused of ordering the arrests of his political enemies.
Months earlier, the opposition had cited the prosecution of Colonel Park for instance of how Mr. Yoon’s authorities was abusing its energy to silence dissenting voices.
In its ruling Thursday, a three-judge panel on the Seoul Central District Army Courtroom acquitted Colonel Park of insubordination and defamation of senior navy officers. He denied the costs, saying they have been introduced in retaliation for his efforts to carry senior officers within the South Korean Marine Corps accountable for the loss of life of Lance Cpl. Chae Su-geun in July 2023
Corporal Chae and different Marines have been despatched to seek for lacking residents in central Seoul after the town was hit by floods, however they weren’t given life jackets and ordered to put on knee-high rubber boots that impeded their motion whereas they waded by means of fast-moving, waist-deep floods. Corporal Chae was swept away and later discovered lifeless.
Colonel Park, who led the investigation into the incident, concluded that eight senior officers, together with Main Normal Im Seong-geun, commander of the first Marine Division, have been accountable for the loss of life of Junior Corporal Chae resulting from negligence.
He later accused the Ministry of Protection of whitewashing his investigation and absolving the senior navy management of duty. He blamed Mr Yoon, who he mentioned “flew right into a rage” after being informed his report held senior commanders accountable for the deaths. Colonel Park cited a senior Marine commander as his supply for his details about Mr. Yoon’s outburst, however the commander denied making such a press release.
Colonel Park mentioned he resisted stress from the Ministry of Protection to clear the names of senior officers resembling Main Normal Im as prison suspects and that he had despatched his recordsdata, as required by legislation, to the nationwide police for additional investigation. The Ministry of Protection retracted the recordsdata and later despatched police a redacted model that named solely two of the unique eight suspects, each of whom have been lower-ranking lieutenant colonels.
Mr Yoon has not addressed Colonel Park’s allegations in opposition to him and has not been charged within the case. However Colonel Park was indicted on costs of defaming his superiors and disobeying an order to delay sending his recordsdata to the police.
In its choice Thursday, the court-martial panel mentioned the insubordination cost couldn’t be sustained as a result of Marine management had no proper to delay sending Colonel Park’s findings to the police. It additionally mentioned there was inadequate proof that the colonel meant to defame his superiors.
Opposition efforts to launch a parliamentary inquiry into Mr Yoon’s position in Colonel Park’s case have been derailed by the political turmoil brought on by his impeachment.
“There’s a lengthy approach to go to search out out the reality about Corporal Chae’s loss of life,” Colonel Park mentioned at a information convention after Thursday’s choice.
