Cio Raids Top Office due to inappropriate accusations of pressure at Marine's death in 2023

The corruption investigation office for high-ranking civil servants (CIOs), which examines allegations of external pressure in the event of a marine death and the consequences, started a raid by the presidential office on Tuesday.
The search and confiscation is part of an investigation of the suspicion that former President Yoon Suk Yeol, the Presidential Office and the Ministry of National Defense have had inappropriately during the process in which the investigation of the Marine Corps was to hand over the case of CPL. Chae Su-Geun's death to the police.
The CIO sent prosecutors and investigators to the national security office and the presidential secretariat in the Yongsan district, Central Seoul to try the search and confiscation. The arrest warrant identifies the former President Yoon and others as suspects because of abuse of power and disability of the exercise of rights.
By the RAID, the CIO, from July 31, 2023, plans to call up the so-called incident with “VIP-Wut” on records and access protocols. The aim is to secure these records before they are transferred to the presidential archives.
“This should check the situation at the time, including the alleged VIP demonstration,” said a CIO officer.
However, it remains uncertain whether the presidential office will comply with the search. Article 110 and 111 of the law on the criminal process process are that such processes in places in which military secrets or objects are involved in connection with official secrets require the approval of the responsible authority.
A special department for police investigations tried to coordinate a search at the president's office and the president's security service on April 16. However, both made rejection declarations, citing military confidentiality and official reasons for their non -cooperation.
The investigation began when Col. Park Jung-Hun, the then head of the Marine Corps investigative unit, which led the probe for the first time to the death of the Navy in August 2023, submitted a complaint to the CIO.

Col. Park Jung-Hun, a former investigator of the Marine Corps, will take part in a press conference in Seoul on January 9, 2024 before being held before a war court on his insubordination costs. [YONHAP]

In April last year, the CIO restored a recorded call from the forensic analysis of the mobile phone of the former commander of the Marine Corps Kim Gye-Hwan, which included a conversation in which Yoon “outrage” expressed.
The CIO also secured statements by Marine officials: “On August 1, last year, we heard from Commandant Kim that President Yoon had expressed outrage.”
In July last year, the CIO received Yoon's personal call records, but did not examine the former Defense Minister Lee Jong-Sup.
Later, on December 3, 2023, the investigation was completely suspended according to the declaration of war law.
This was due to the fact that the CIO had assigned all available prosecutors and investigators to the case of the former president. During this time, Col. Park was acquitted of the military court in January for insubordination and defamation of a superior officer.
On April 30, the CIO resumed the investigation and asked the former divisional commander Lim Seong-Geun to observe a digital forensic procedure.

Translated from the Joongang Ilbo with generative AI and edited by Korea Joongang Daily Staff.
By Shim Seok-Yong [[email protected]]