A South Korean marine colonel, Park Jung-hun, was acquitted by a court-martial on Thursday of charges related to insubordination and defamation after he accused President Yoon Suk Yeol of whitewashing an investigation into a marine's death.
The case sparked significant public outcry in South Korea, leading opposition lawmakers to propose a bill for a special prosecutor to investigate Colonel Park's allegations. Tensions escalated as President Yoon vetoed the bill three times, prompting threats of impeachment from the opposition.
President Yoon was ultimately impeached by the opposition-controlled National Assembly, but for a different issue: his imposition of martial law for six hours last month, during which he was accused of deploying troops to the Assembly to prevent disruptions to his government. He also faced accusations of ordering the arrests of political opponents.
Prior to these events, the opposition had cited Colonel Park's prosecution as evidence of the government's misuse of authority to suppress dissent.
In its ruling, a three-judge panel at the Central District Military Court in Seoul found Colonel Park not guilty of insubordination and defamation against senior military officers. Colonel Park had maintained that the charges were retaliatory actions against him for holding senior officers accountable for the death of Lance Corporal Chae Su-geun in July 2023.
Lance Corporal Chae and other marines were deployed to search for missing residents following severe flooding in central South Korea. They were reportedly not provided with life jackets and were ordered to wear inadequate footwear, which hindered their movement in the floodwaters. Lance Corporal Chae was ultimately swept away and later found deceased.
Colonel Park, who led the investigation into the incident, determined that eight superior officers, including Maj. Gen. Im Seong-geun, were negligent in their duties, contributing to Lance Corporal Chae's death. He accused the Defense Ministry of attempting to whitewash his findings and absolving senior military officials of responsibility, claiming that President Yoon reacted angrily upon learning that his report implicated high-ranking commanders. However, the top marine commander denied making such a statement.
Colonel Park stated that he resisted pressure from the Defense Ministry to remove the names of senior officers from the list of suspects and complied with legal requirements by forwarding his investigation files to the national police. The Defense Ministry later retracted these files, submitting a revised version that named only two lower-ranking officers as suspects.
While President Yoon has not responded to Colonel Park's allegations and has not faced charges, Colonel Park was indicted for defaming his superiors and disobeying an order to delay sending his files to the police.
The military court ruled that the insubordination charge was invalid, as the Marines' leadership lacked the authority to postpone the submission of Colonel Park's findings to the police. Additionally, the court found insufficient evidence to support the claim that Colonel Park intended to defame his superiors.
Efforts by the opposition to investigate President Yoon's involvement in Colonel Park's case have been complicated by the ongoing political turmoil following his impeachment.
Following the ruling, Colonel Park remarked, "There is a long way to go to find out the truth about the death of Lance Corporal Chae."