Commissioner Yoo Byung-ho, who is accused of leaking military secrets during the Board of Audit and Inspection's audit of the "West Sea civil servant shooting," appeared before police on the 26th.
The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's anti-corruption investigative unit summoned Yoo as a suspect from 10 a.m. that day for questioning. The Board of Audit and Inspection operations and reform task force (TF) filed a police complaint last November against seven former and current senior officials, including former Board of Audit and Inspection Chairman Choi Jae-hae and Commissioner Yoo, on charges of violating the Military Secret Protection Act.
Appearing before police that day, Commissioner Yoo said, "What we released about the audit was entirely natural and justified," adding, "There was not a single character that the public should not know among the released contents." He continued, "I will faithfully speak to (the police about) the TF's various illegal and improper acts."
Asked by reporters about the allegation that he "forcibly distributed the press release," Commissioner Yoo said it was "false information."
Commissioner Yoo is accused of disclosing specific confidential information in a press release without undergoing review by the Ministry of National Defense during the audit of the West Sea civil servant shooting conducted in 2022–2023 under the Yoon Suk-yeol administration.
The TF is also said to have determined that there were indications of military secret leaks in the process of media reports on the audit into the public-interest petition regarding the inadequate verification of the disablement of North Korean guard posts (GPs).
The TF also filed a complaint alleging that Commissioner Yoo carried out illegal and improper acts by conducting inspections targeting employees with different views from his and placing them on standby.