Ex-defense chief attends arrest warrant hearing over alleged interference in Marine death case

Daniel Kim 2025.10.24 Views

Former Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup on Thursday appeared for a court hearing on his potential arrest over allegations of interfering in a military probe into the 2023 death of a Marine conscript.

Lee arrived at the Seoul Central District Court after special counsel Lee Myeong-hyeon filed for the warrant Monday on charges of abuse of power among other offenses in connection to the alleged interference.

“I will make a full explanation at the courtroom,” Lee told reporters, while rejecting the charges brought against him.

The court decision on his potential arrest will be made as early as later in the day.

The case centers on allegations the former Yoon Suk Yeol administration interfered in the Marine Corps’ investigation into the death of Cpl. Chae Su-geun in July 2023 in order to allegedly clear a senior Marine commander of responsibility.

The former minister, who served at the time of Chae’s death, is accused of ordering the probe not be transferred to the police and later retrieving it after Yoon allegedly flew into a rage upon being briefed on the case.

Lee has acknowledged the episode about Yoon but has maintained that he was not ordered to exclude a certain individual from the suspect list or stop the probe’s transfer.

He has defended his order to halt the transfer as a legitimate exercise of his authority as defense minister, adding that he did not make orders to exclude the senior Marine commander from the suspect list.

Chae died after being swept away in a swollen stream during a search for victims of heavy rains while not wearing proper safety equipment, such as a life vest. (Yonhap)

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