The Marine Corps special prosecutor plans to summon Lee Si-won, the former presidential office chief of civil service discipline, as a suspect on the 31st.
On the 29th, Special Prosecutor Jung Min-young noted during a morning briefing, "On Thursday, the 31st, we plan to investigate the former secretary at 9:30 a.m.," adding, "There is evidence confirming close communication with relevant parties, including the police and the Ministry of National Defense, during the process of retrieving the Cha Sang-byeong death investigation records from the defense prosecutor's office."
Special Prosecutor Jung stated, "Through the investigation of the former secretary, we intend to verify whether there were any illegal activities in the process of transferring the investigation records from the police to the Ministry of National Defense."
The Ministry of National Defense retrieved the investigation records from the Gyeongbuk Provincial Police Agency on Aug. 2, 2023. On that day, the former secretary is under suspicion of being involved in the retrieval of the records while conversing with Yoo Jae-eun, the former legal affairs manager of the Ministry of National Defense, and Lim Gi-hoon, the former secretary of the National Security Office.
Special Prosecutor Jung mentioned, "The former military advisor Park Jin-hee, who was investigated the previous day, is scheduled to appear again tomorrow (30th) morning," adding, "Although we have already conducted a lengthy investigation, there are still additional aspects to investigate, so we decided to call him again tomorrow." According to the special prosecutor, the former advisor has been in close contact with key individuals in the Cha Sang-byeong death case, including former Minister of National Defense Lee Jong-seob and former Marine Corps Commander Kim Gye-hwan.
Meanwhile, the special prosecutor is seeking to clarify allegations of external pressure in the Cha Sang-byeong death investigation based on the 'VIP anger theory.' The VIP anger theory suggests that former President Yoon Suk-yeol became furious after receiving a report on the results of the Cha Sang-byeong case investigation during a presidential office meeting at 11 a.m. on July 31, 2023, and reprimanded the former minister by phone, leading to a suspension of the police transfer and a change in the investigation results.