The Marine Corps special prosecutor announced on the 20th that it is investigating Choi Jin-kyu, former commander of the 11th Maritime Artillery Battalion, who instructed search personnel at the scene of the death of Private Chae to "go in waist-deep."
On this day, Major Choi arrived at the special prosecutor's office in Seocho-gu, Seoul, wearing the summer uniform of the Marine Corps and a mask around 10:02 a.m.
In response to reporters' questions such as, "Did you receive an underwater search directive from Brigade Commander Park Sang-hyun?" and, "Did the division commander disregard suggestions that underwater searches would be difficult?" and, "Did you not think it was dangerous given insufficient safety equipment?" Major Choi answered, "I will sincerely cooperate with the investigation" before entering the investigation room.
The special prosecutor is expected to investigate the background of why Major Choi conducted underwater search operations. It is also anticipated that they will confirm the on-site visit of former division commander Lim and major directives during the flood recovery operation and the content of the remote video conference (VTC) held the afternoon before the incident occurred.
Major Choi is facing charges of professional negligence resulting in death, as he instructed personnel at the scene during the flood recovery operation in Yecheon, Gyeongsangbuk-do, in July 2023 to "go waist-deep into the water to find the missing person," which led to the death of Private Chae.
Major Choi was the senior among the Marine Corps artillery battalion commanders deployed in the flood recovery operation in Yecheon, Gyeongsangbuk-do, in July 2023. He directly communicated with former Brigade Commander Park Sang-hyun (Colonel) of the 7th Brigade of the 1st Marine Division, who served as the commander of the 2nd Rapid Deployment Division.
On the morning of July 15, 2023, the former division commander was requested for flood recovery support by the Gyeongsangbuk-do Fire Department and two days later established the 2nd Rapid Deployment Division centered around the 7th Brigade of the 1st Marine Division, adding artillery brigade personnel to deploy to the site.
The deploying troops initially expected to perform general civil support activities such as removing debris but were later instructed to also conduct a search operation for submerged missing persons during the movement process.
After the death of Private Chae, Major Choi reportedly claimed during the Marine Corps Investigation Unit's inquiry that he felt burdened by former division commander Lim's "grid search" directive and instructed personnel to enter the water waist-deep to search.