The special investigation team led by Lee Myung-hyun, which is investigating the allegations of former Minister of National Defense Lee Jong-seop's escape through the appointment as ambassador to Australia, has summoned Lim Se-jin, the Director General of the Financial Investigation Department of the Seoul Southern District Prosecutor's Office, on the 31st to investigate regarding the 'lifting of the travel ban.'
According to the legal community on the 31st, the special investigation team for the Marine Corps member who died in action (special investigator Lee Myung-hyun) summoned Director General Lim at 3 p.m. the same day to investigate the lifting of the travel ban on the former Minister. Director General Lim was on the review committee of the Ministry of Justice for the travel ban when the measure against the former Minister was lifted.
The special investigation team is looking into whether there was any involvement from higher-ups, including the Presidential Office, in the process of appointing the former Minister as ambassador to Australia and in the process of entering the country after the controversy over 'escape abroad' arose. The team plans to question Director General Lim about the circumstances surrounding the lifting of the travel ban on the former Minister and whether any illegal activities occurred.
Earlier, the former Minister was reported to the Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials (CIO) after Lee Chae-sung, a Marine Corps sergeant, died in July 2023, amid allegations of exerting external pressure during the process of transferring and recovering the case of the Marine Corps investigation team from the Democratic Party of Korea. The CIO imposed a travel ban on the former Minister.
However, on March 4, 2024, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs appointed the former Minister as the ambassador to Australia and issued a diplomatic passport. Four days after the appointment, on March 8, the Ministry of Justice lifted the travel ban against the former Minister, and he departed for Australia.