Yoon Pressured to Investigate Lee Jong-sup, Says 'Let's Send Him to Australia Now'

[Financial News] Former President Yoon Suk Yeol, who has been indicted for allegedly helping former Minister of National Defense Lee Jong-sup flee to Australia while under criminal investigation, reportedly instructed former Office of National Security (ONS) chief Cho Tae-yong in November 2023, saying, "Let's send Lee Jong-sup to Australia now."
At that time, as the trial of Colonel Park Jeong-hoon of the Republic of Korea Marine Corps (ROK Marine Corps) revealed evidence of external pressure on the Ministry of National Defense (MND) leadership, calls for an investigation into former Minister Lee intensified, particularly among opposition parties.
According to Yonhap News Agency on the 29th, the special prosecutor team concluded that Yoon Suk Yeol sought to send Lee Jong-sup to Australia out of concern that he himself could become a target of the investigation into allegations of exerting undue influence through Lee.
Yoon first mentioned appointing Lee as ambassador on September 12, 2023, the day Lee offered his resignation after allegations of interference in the investigation surfaced.
On that day, Yoon reportedly asked Cho Tae-yong, "The opposition is threatening impeachment, so he resigned. Shouldn't we give him another opportunity, such as an ambassadorship, at an appropriate time? Where should we send him as head of mission?"
At the time, Cho Tae-yong recommended the ambassadorship to Australia, to which Yoon replied, "Let's give him the opportunity at the right time."
Three days later, during a dinner with outgoing ministers at the presidential residence, Yoon told Lee Jong-sup that he could be considered for an ambassador or special envoy role in the future.
Although the term of the then-incumbent ambassador to Australia had more than two years remaining and the position allowed for extended service beyond the retirement age, the replacement proceeded swiftly at Yoon's direction, despite it being an unusual time for a personnel change.
The indictment states that two months later, Yoon again instructed Lee's appointment as ambassador, this time explicitly saying, 'Let's send him.'
Around this period, Park Jin-hee, former military aide at the Ministry of National Defense (MND) and a close associate of Lee, was found to have conveyed instructions to reduce charges to Kim Gye-hwan, Commandant of the Republic of Korea Marine Corps, as disclosed in a military court. This was when Lee Jong-sup was increasingly being discussed as a main target of the investigation.
On November 19, Yoon Suk Yeol told former ONS chief Cho Tae-yong, "Let's send Lee Jong-sup to Australia now." In response, Cho Tae-yong instructed Jo Gurae, former Director-General for Planning and Coordination at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, "We need to send Lee Jong-sup now. Prepare the personnel process. Send him as soon as possible."
Jo Gurae then called a personnel officer at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, saying, "I just got a call from Cho Tae-yong. It's time to replace the ambassador to Australia. The successor will be Lee Jong-sup, former Minister of National Defense. The President doesn't want him to go as late as March." He indicated that these instructions reflected Yoon's intentions.
Jo Gurae also directed that Lee's appointment as ambassador be processed quickly, but not as a standalone appointment—rather, it should be bundled with several other ambassadorial appointments to avoid drawing attention.
Similar instructions were given to Jang Ho-jin, former Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs. On December 5, Cho Tae-yong told Jang to begin the process of sending Lee Jong-sup to Australia as ambassador by January of the following year.
Jang Ho-jin then instructed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs personnel officer, "Process Australia and Morocco together as quickly as possible. Submit the nominations to the presidential personnel office within this week. Ensure Lee can assume the post by January."
The special prosecutor team found that, although the ambassador to Australia still had time left in their term and there was no particular reason for a replacement, Ministry of Foreign Affairs staff proceeded with the head of mission qualification review because they felt compelled to follow the President's orders.
Contrary to the standard operating procedures for ambassadorial qualification reviews, Lee Jong-sup was not required to submit foreign language proficiency test scores, and the review was rushed, with only signatures from the committee members, ultimately resulting in a 'qualified' decision.
With comprehensive support from the President's office under Yoon's instructions, Lee Jong-sup quickly received agrément from the Australian government and was appointed ambassador to Australia on March 4, 2024.
It was also found that Lee Jong-sup received active assistance from the Office of the President of South Korea and the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) during his departure process.
After appointing Lee as ambassador to Australia, Yoon was informed that Lee was subject to a travel ban and instructed, "Postpone his departure by two weeks." Lee then received the travel ban objection form with the cooperation of the MOJ.
At the time, Park Sung-jae, then Minister of Justice, was informed by Lee Jae-yu, former Director-General of Immigration and Foreign Policy, that Lee Jong-sup had submitted the travel ban objection form. Park remarked, "He's not leaving for personal reasons; the President appointed him as ambassador to Australia. Is it right for the MOJ to block his departure with a travel ban? We should lift Lee Jong-sup's travel ban."
Sim Woo-jung, former Vice Minister, also received a report from Lee Jae-yu and similarly ordered the lifting of the travel ban, saying, "The President appointed Lee Jong-sup as ambassador to Australia. Is it right to prevent him from leaving by imposing a travel ban?"
Following instructions from the ministers and vice ministers, Lee Jae-yu directed staff to prepare a positive report on lifting the travel ban for the review committee. At this point, no opinion had yet been received from the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) regarding the lifting of the ban.
The travel ban review committee's decision stated, "The disadvantages to the applicant outweigh the public interest that could be achieved by maintaining the travel ban; therefore, the objection is accepted," effectively concluding in favor of lifting the ban.
The special prosecutor team also determined that Park Sung-jae's remarks on the morning of March 8, 2024, the day of the travel ban review, expressing agreement with lifting the ban, amounted to de facto pressure on the committee members.


jjw@fnnews.com Jung Ji-woo Reporter