Special Prosecutor Chae Sang-byeong, Investigates Park Jeong-hoon as a Witness for 'External Pressure Exposure'... Summons Gyeongbuk Police Chief

[Financial News] The special prosecutor team for Chae Sang-byeong (Lee Myung-hyun special prosecutor) will summon Park Jeong-hoon, the Marine Corps investigation team leader (Colonel), who exposed allegations of external pressure during the initial investigation of Chae Sang-byeong's death, as a witness on the 16th. In addition, the Gyeongbuk Police Chief, who received the investigation records of the Marine Corps investigation team at that time, will also be investigated as a suspect on the same day.
Jeong Min-young, the special prosecutor, said in a briefing on the morning of the 16th, "We plan to summon Colonel Park Jeong-hoon, the Marine Corps investigation team leader, as a witness this afternoon," and explained, "The investigation aims to reconfirm his stance and testimony regarding the content of the alleged anger of former President Yoon Seok-yeol, the transfer and retrieval of investigation records, and related overall content."
He continued, "We plan to summon Choi Joo-won, who was the police chief of Gyeongsangbuk-do at the time of Chae Sang-byeong's death, as a suspect at 3 PM today." The Gyeongbuk Police Agency received the initial investigation records from the Marine Corps investigation team on August 2, 2023, and later transferred the records to the Ministry of National Defense's prosecution team.
Jeong, the special prosecutor, explained, "We plan to investigate the overall suspicion of whether there was any involvement from the presidential office in this process." He added that Choi, the police chief, is being investigated as a suspect due to allegations of abuse of authority.
The special prosecutor team also announced an additional investigation into former Marine Corps Commander Kim Gye-hwan on the 17th. Jeong, the special prosecutor, said, "We plan to summon former Marine Corps Commander Kim Gye-hwan for investigation at 10:30 AM tomorrow," and added, "We have determined that additional investigation is necessary based on the information the special prosecutor has gathered regarding the situation during the chief secretary meeting presided over by the presidential office on July 31, 2023."
He also added, "We plan to investigate the allegations of perjury and other charges against former Commander Kim, which were transferred from the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO)."
The investigation into the participants of the presidential office meeting is nearing its end. Jeong, the special prosecutor, stated, "From our perspective, we believe we have identified most of the meeting participants," and mentioned, "There are specific testimonies from those who said that Kim Yong-hyun, the former Minister of National Defense, attended, and we have his name on the list, so we will likely confirm it again during the investigation process."
At 2 PM today, a witness investigation will also be conducted on Kang Yi-gu, the former deputy chief of staff of the presidential office. Kang is known to have had several phone calls with Lim Ki-hoon, the former national defense secretary, on the day of the meeting and is presumed to be aware of the alleged anger of former President Yoon.
The so-called 'VIP Anger Theory' alleges that former President Yoon became furious after receiving an initial investigation report from the Marine Corps investigation team during a presidential office meeting on July 31, 2023, and called Lee Jong-seop, the then Minister of National Defense, to reprimand him, which allegedly led to a reversal of the investigation results. The special prosecutor team is known to have secured testimonies from multiple participants, including Kim Tae-hyo, the former first deputy director of the National Security Office, that former President Yoon was angry.
Colonel Park led the initial investigation into the death of Chae Sang-byeong as the Marine Corps investigation team leader. At that time, the investigation team identified eight individuals, including Lim Seong-geun, the former commander of the 1st Marine Division, as suspects for professional negligence resulting in death.
Immediately after the chief secretary meeting, where the 'VIP Anger Theory' emerged, the military leadership postponed the transfer of the case to the police. In response, Colonel Park pushed for the transfer to the police and was charged with insubordination. He was acquitted in the first trial earlier this year, and the acquittal was confirmed after the special prosecutor withdrew the appeal.

scottchoi15@fnnews.com Choi Eun-sol Reporter