Police decided Monday not to charge a Marine division commander accused of responsibility in last year’s death of a young solider during a search operation for flood victims, only referring six other officers to the prosecution for indictment.

The result of the politically sensitive investigation came a year after the then 20-year-old Marine conscript, surnamed Chae, was swept away by a torrent during a search for missing downpour victims in the southeastern county of Yecheon on July 19 last year. He was found dead half a day later.

The death sparked national outrage over initial findings that conscripts, including Chae, were mobilized for the risky search mission to comb through a swollen, torrential and muddy stream without proper safety gear, such as life jackets or ropes, resulting in Chae’s death.

On Monday, the Gyeongbuk Provincial Police Agency in Andong, near Yecheon, announced that it has decided to forward six military officials, including the commander of Chae’s battalion, to the prosecution on
charges of professional negligence resulting in death.

The six people did not include Lim Seong-geun, the commander of the Marine Corps 1st Division at the time of the accident, who is at the center of alleged interference in the military’s initial inquiry into Chae’s death.

The allegation surfaced after former chief Marine investigator Col. Park Jung-hun, who led the inquiry, drew up a report accusing Lim and seven other military officials of being responsible for Chae’s death. Park then submitted the report to the police for criminal procedures following confirmation from the then defense minister.

The report was, however, immediately retrieved from the police by the defense ministry, while Park was subsequently dismissed as chief Marine investigator and placed under a military investigation for alleged disobedience.

Park has claimed he was informed that the retrieval was due to President Yoon Suk Yeol’s “fury” over the inquiry result accusing military commanders.

Currently, the Corruption Investigatio
n Office for High-ranking Officials is also conducting a separate investigation into alleged interference by the presidential office and the defense ministry in the military’s primary inquiry into Chae’s death.

Last week, the opposition-controlled National Assembly passed a bill mandating a special counsel investigation into those allegations amid fierce protests from the ruling People Power Party.

Another similar bill, championed by the main opposition Democratic Party, initially passed through the previous National Assembly but was scrapped in a revote after Yoon Suk Yeol vetoed it.

The president is widely expected to once again exercise his veto power against the bill.

Source: Yonhap News Agency