On the 8th, the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) is attempting to re-execute a seizure and search related to the alleged external pressure on the investigation of the marine corps death case against the National Security Office and the Presidential Office. The previous attempt the day before had failed.
On that day, the CIO stated in a notice sent to reporters that it is attempting a seizure and search of the National Security Office and the Presidential Office.
The CIO attempted a seizure and search of the National Security Office and the Presidential Office the day before, but it was unsuccessful. This was because the Chief of Staff of the Presidential Office and the Director of the National Security Office did not grant the final execution approval. Accordingly, the CIO halted the execution and withdrew about 6 hours and 30 minutes after initially starting the search.
Meanwhile, the external pressure allegations regarding the investigation of the marine corps death case are related to the death of Corporal Chae Soo-geun, who was swept away by a strong current while deployed in the search for missing persons after flooding in the Yecheon County in North Gyeongsang Province in July 2023. Allegations have arisen that officials from the office of former President Yoon Suk-yeol and the Ministry of National Defense exerted external pressure during the process of the marine corps investigation unit, which investigated this case, naming former Marine Corps 1st Division Commander Im Seong-geun as responsible for Corporal Chae’s death and handing it over to the police.
Former marine corps investigation unit commander Park Jeong-hoon (Colonel), who was in charge of the initial investigation, received an instruction from higher-ups to withhold the transfer of investigation materials to the police but did not comply. He then revealed that he heard that President Yoon Suk-yeol was enraged after receiving the investigation unit's report, which escalated the allegations.