Former South Korean president Yoon indicted on allegations over cover-up of marine’s death
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Yoon Suk Yeol is currently in detention and on trial on charges related to the declaration of martial law in Dec 2024.
PHOTO: ASIA NEWS NETWORK/THE KOREAN HERALD
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SEOUL – The special counsel investigating allegations of abuse of power and a cover-up in the death of Marine Corporal Chae Su-geun indicted former president Yoon Suk Yeol and 11 other former government and military officials on Nov 21.
According to the special counsel, Yoon was indicted without detention on charges of abuse of authority and obstruction of official documents. The indictment comes 142 days after the special probe began.
Yoon is currently in detention and on trial on charges related to the short-lived declaration of martial law on Dec 3, 2024.
In the latest indictment, Yoon is accused of ordering illegal intervention to alter the outcome of the Marine Corps’ internal investigation into the July 2023 drowning death of Cpl Chae during a flood rescue mission.
Prosecutors say Yoon pressured military and government officials to shield senior marine commanders, including then commander of the 1st Marine Division, Lim Seong-geun, from being named as suspects.
Alongside Yoon, 11 former high-ranking officials were also indicted, including Cho Tae-yong, who was director of the National Security Office, and former defence minister Lee Jong-sup.
Others named in the indictment include former vice-defence minister Shin Beom-chul, former Defence Ministry spokesperson Jeon Ha-kyu, former director of national defence policy at the Defence Ministry Heo Tae-geun, former legal affairs official at the Defence Ministry Yoo Jae-eun, former Defence Ministry military aide Park Jin-hee, former Defence Ministry prosecutor-general Kim Dong-hyuk and former Marine Corps commandant Kim Kye-hwan.
The special counsel said Yoon’s actions undermined the fairness of the probe and the independence of official duties by unlawfully instructing the Ministry of National Defence and the presidential office to exclude certain individuals from legal scrutiny. THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
