South Korea Political Scandal: How Yoon Shielded Minister from Marine Death Probe

The ousted president, already on trial for his botched martial law attempt, was further indicted earlier this week for allegedly helping Lee escape from the widening probe that centred on suspicions of negligence by senior Marine leadership.

The indictment, obtained by Yonhap News Agency, alleges that in September 2023, Yoon discussed with his national security adviser, Cho Tae-yong, sending Lee to an ambassadorial post. That was when Lee had offered to step down as minister amid growing controversy over the young Marine's death, reports Yonhap news agency.

As Cho suggested appointing him ambassador to Australia, Yoon flagged the idea of Lee being considered for an envoy post during his meeting with former ministers, the indictment showed.

Two months later, Yoon explicitly instructed Cho to make arrangements for Lee's appointment, according to the indictment.

Cho allegedly went on to order foreign ministry officials to take steps to replace the ambassador, whose term had more than two years remaining. Lee was appointed to the position in March 2024.

The indictment says that Yoon's orders led the foreign ministry to replace the ambassador to Morocco, as well as to make Lee's appointment to Australia look like a regular reshuffle.

The indictment also alleges that the justice ministry was actively involved in helping Lee leave the country.

Former Justice Minister Park Sung-jae allegedly ordered the immigration agency to remove the travel ban that had been placed on Lee, which had been put in place in line with the legal standards, as Lee was a key person of interest in the investigation into the Marine's death.

Special counsel Lee Myeong-hyeon's team believes that Yoon went to such lengths to help the former defence minister escape from the military probe because Yoon needed to avoid being implicated in the case himself.

The military investigation into the death of Cpl. Chae Su-geun concluded that eight individuals, including Lim Seong-geun, former commander of the Marine Corps 1st Division, were suspected of occupational negligence resulting in death.

Lee, then the defence minister, had initially approved the investigation report without objection. But he later ordered the probe not to be referred to the police after Yoon "burst into rage" upon being briefed on its findings, the special counsel has said.

On Thursday, the special counsel indicted Yoon and five other former senior officials for their suspected roles in helping Lee's alleged flight, including former top security adviser Cho, former Justice Minister Park and former First Vice Foreign Minister Chang Ho-jin.

- IANS