The special counsel on the Marine's line-of-duty death sought an arrest warrant on the 21st for former 1st Marine Division commander Lim Sung-keun on charges including occupational negligence resulting in death.
At a regular briefing that day, the special counsel said, "In connection with the death of Marine Chae Su-geun, who died in the recovery operation after heavy rain damage, we applied for arrest warrants this morning (the 21st) for former division commander Lim Sung-keun and former 11th Artillery Battalion commander Choi Jin-gyu on charges including occupational negligence resulting in death."
The special counsel also said that since its launch, it has visited Marine units across the country in person to conduct investigations. The special counsel said, "We conducted multiple on-site investigations in places such as Yecheon, North Gyeongsang; Pohang, where the 1st Division is located; and Hwaseong, Gyeonggi, where the Marine Corps headquarters is located, and we questioned about 80 commanding officers and service members who were serving with the 1st Marine Division at the time of Marine Chae's death."
It added that it also confirmed allegations that had not been revealed before the special counsel's probe. The special counsel said, "Based on statements and other evidence, we determined that the charge of occupational negligence resulting in death is substantiated against former division commander Lim Sung-keun," and added, "(Former division commander Lim) is attempting to cajole subordinates into changing their statements and is seriously obstructing the investigation."
It went on to say, "We determined that it is necessary to investigate former division commander Lim Sung-keun in custody, given the seriousness of the crime and the suspicion of evidence destruction."
Meanwhile, the special counsel on the previous day sought arrest warrants for five people — former Minister of the Ministry of National Defense Lee Jong-sup, former military adviser to the Ministry of National Defense Park Jin-hee, former head of the Ministry of National Defense's prosecution unit Kim Dong-hyeok, former director-general for legal affairs at the Ministry of National Defense Yoo Jae-eun, and former Marine Corps Commandant Kim Gye-hwan — on charges including abuse of authority.