On the 7th, the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) is attempting to conduct a search and seizure of the National Security Office and the Presidential Secretariat regarding allegations of external pressure in the investigation of the 'death of a Marine on active duty.'
On the 7th, the CIO stated in a notice sent to reporters, 'We are currently trying to conduct a search and seizure of the National Security Office and the Presidential Secretariat in relation to the so-called “external pressure incident in the investigation of a Marine on active duty.”'
This allegation is related to the death of Corporal Chae Soo-geun, who was swept away by swift water while searching for missing persons in the flood disaster in Yecheon, North Gyeongsang Province, in July 2023. Allegations arose that officials, including former President Yoon Suk-yeol and staff from the Presidential Office and the Ministry of National Defense, exerted external pressure in the process where the Marine Corps investigation team, which investigated the case, referred the corporal to the police, designating Im Seong-geun, the former commander of the Marine Corps 1st Division, as responsible for his death.
Former Colonel Park Jeong-hoon, who was in charge of the initial investigation, was instructed by superiors to withhold the transfer of investigation materials to the police, but he did not comply. He later revealed, 'I heard that President Yoon Suk-yeol was furious after being briefed on the results of the investigation team.'