Special prosecutor Lee Myung-hyun (military legal officer, 9th class) investigating the alleged pressure in the ‘Marine Corps corporal death case’ said on the 13th, “I will clearly reveal the substantive truth about this unfair death.”
President Lee Jae-myung appointed former Board of Audit and Inspection Commissioner Cho Eun-seok, former Seoul Central District Court Chief Judge Min Jung-ki, and this special prosecutor at about 11:09 p.m. the previous day regarding the insurrection, Kim Keon-hee, and the special prosecutor for the deceased Marine. Earlier, the Democratic Party of Korea and the Rebuilding Korea Party each recommended three candidates for the special prosecutor on the same day.
This special prosecutor noted, “I dealt resolutely and with conviction about demands to cover up the case while investigating military service corruption 23 years ago,” adding, “This one (the special prosecution) will be the same.” This special prosecutor investigated military corruption involving the son of then-presidential candidate Lee Hoi-chang of the Grand National Party as the head of the first joint investigation team for military service corruption at the Ministry of National Defense in 1998. At that time, he drew attention by revealing that there was obstruction and pressure during the investigation from his direct superiors and the Defense Security Command.
In response to a question about the difficulty of the investigation, this special prosecutor stated, “I expect it to be easier than other special prosecutions,” adding, “It’s already clear who is hiding the truth, so isn’t it just a matter of clarifying that part?”
This special prosecutor was born in 1962 and hails from Buyeo, South Chungcheong Province. After graduating from Seongnam High School and Korea University School of Law, he passed the 9th Military Legal Officer appointment exam. He then served as a military judge at the Army Headquarters, senior prosecutor at the Ministry of National Defense, head of the legal office at the U.S.-South Korea Combined Forces Command, and head of the legal office at the Joint Chiefs of Staff.