Chae Sang-byeong Special Prosecutor Summons Cho Tae-yong and Military Prosecutor for 'Investigation Pressure'... Also Targets 'Lee Jong-seop Review Process'

[Financial News] Cho Tae-yong, former head of the National Security Office, who is suspected of being involved in the process of the Ministry of National Defense retrieving the Chae Sang-byeong case records after they were transferred to the police, is undergoing the third investigation by the Chae Sang-byeong Special Prosecutor's Team (Lee Myung-hyeon Special Prosecutor). The special prosecutor is also investigating Kim Dong-hyeok, former head of the Ministry of National Defense Inspection Team, who conducted a forced investigation on Park Jeong-hoon, head of the Marine Corps Investigation Team (Colonel), who was in charge of the initial investigation.
Jeong Min-young, assistant special prosecutor for the Chae Sang-byeong case, stated in a regular briefing on the 13th, "The Ministry of National Defense Prosecutor's Office visited the Gyeongbuk Police Agency on the evening of August 2, 2023, and took the Chae Sang-byeong case records without permission, initiating a forced investigation including search and seizure, arrest warrant application, and indictment of Park Jeong-hoon, who conducted the initial investigation in the Marine Corps, on charges of collective disobedience," and added, "We plan to confirm whether there were any illegal acts such as abuse of authority during this process."
Additionally, the special prosecutor plans to conduct a suspect investigation on military prosecutor Yeom Bo-hyeon Major, who investigated and prosecuted Colonel Park, at 1:30 PM today. The special prosecutor has secured records of editing the arrest warrant document for Colonel Park from the Ministry of National Defense's computer program at the time through a search and seizure.
Assistant special prosecutor Jeong stated, "There are several parts in the arrest warrant application (written by Major Yeom and others) that are considered false upon review," and added, "We have partially investigated how it was perceived at the time, and further investigation on that part will be conducted today."
Furthermore, the special prosecutor is also investigating the process of nominating former Minister of National Defense Lee Jong-seop as ambassador to Australia. Assistant special prosecutor Jeong stated, "We are investigating whether there were any issues in the qualification review process for appointing former Minister Lee as ambassador to Australia in January 2024," and added that the investigation of the majority of the eight members who signed the review committee at the time has been completed, and additional investigations on the remaining members are planned. The special prosecutor maintains that they do not conclude any illegality in the review process, but they intend to verify the procedural progress considering that the review was conducted unusually quickly.
Former Chief Cho is a suspect charged with abuse of authority and obstruction of the exercise of rights related to the suspicion of involvement in the record transfer. He arrived at the Special Prosecutor's Office in Seocho-gu, Seoul, at around 9:29 AM today and only responded, "I will sincerely participate in the investigation," to the question, "Did former President Yoon Seok-yeol directly order the retrieval of the records?" He remained silent on whether former President Yoon was enraged upon receiving the report of the record transfer.
Former Chief Cho underwent intense investigations for a long time on two occasions, on the 29th of last month and the 8th of this month. The special prosecutor plans to focus on questioning whether he was involved in the record retrieval process and whether former President Yoon ordered it, based on the communication records of the secure phone he used at the time.
Kim, who appeared at 9:09 AM today, responded to the question, "Did you investigate Colonel Park on former President Yoon's orders?" by saying, "The investigation was entirely my decision, and the junior military prosecutors followed me silently," and added, "I will take full responsibility for everything."

scottchoi15@fnnews.com Choi Eun-sol Reporter