The special prosecutor investigating the death of a Marine is conducting a search and seizure at the Ministry of Justice's Gwacheon office on the 5th regarding allegations of the appointment of former Minister of National Defense Lee Jong-seop as ambassador to Australia.
The special prosecutor said it has been conducting search and seizure operations at the former personnel management office of the Ministry of Justice, the Minister's office, and the Vice Minister's office since the morning of that day on charges including abuse of authority.
The special prosecutor has been investigating allegations regarding the appointment of former Minister Lee as ambassador to Australia. Concerns have arisen about a "fleeing suspicion" as former Minister Lee was appointed ambassador to Australia while being under investigation for alleged pressure during the investigation of the late Corporal Chae Soo-geun's death.
At that time, the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials prohibited former Minister Lee from leaving the country. However, on March 4th of last year, former Minister Lee was appointed ambassador to Australia, and his departure was allowed after a request for objection from the Ministry of Justice was accepted.
The personnel management office of the Ministry of Justice was the department that conducted the first verification in senior public official appointments during the Yoon Suk-yeol administration. There are suspicions that it was involved in the process of appointing former Minister Lee as ambassador to Australia while he was prohibited from leaving the country as a target of the CIO investigation.
Earlier, the special prosecutor conducted search and seizure operations on the mobile phones and vehicles of former Minister of Justice Park Sung-jae and former head of the personnel management office of the Ministry of Justice Park Haeng-yeol.