Military prosecutors to appeal acquittal of ex-Marine investigator in insubordination case

January 13, 2025

Military prosecutors have decided to file an appeal against a court martial ruling that acquitted a former top Marine investigator, who led a probe into a young conscript’s death, of insubordination charges, officials said Monday.

The decision came just four days after Col. Park Jung-hun was acquitted of insubordination and defamation by a court martial in central Seoul.

“The defense ministry’s prosecutors’ office respects the court martial’s ruling. But based on a review of the sentencing, we have decided to appeal as there were parts that could not be accepted in terms of verification of facts and legal principle,” the prosecutors said in a statement.

Military prosecutors earlier sought a three-year prison term for Park, claiming his denial of all charges “negatively” affects the command system and discipline of the military.

Park was accused of the charges following an internal probe he led into the death of the corporal who was swept away and killed by a torrent during a search for missing flood victims in the southeastern county of Yecheon in July 2023.

Three months later, he was indicted for allegedly handing over internal probe results to the civilian police in defiance of orders from then Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup and the Marine Corps’ chief to wait for more legal deliberations.

The former Marine investigator has claimed he was informed that the case retrieval was decided after President Yoon Suk Yeol reportedly grew angry over the inquiry result accusing military commanders.

Lee had initially approved the probe’s findings, but reversed his decision a day later, raising questions over the move.

Park has also told the media that he had felt “pressured” to remove the commander of the 1st Marine Division from the list of people he found responsible for the death, claiming that Lee even protested, questioning whether a division commander should be subject to criminal punishment. The 1st Marine Division is the unit to which the dead conscript had belonged.

Prosecutors have rejected the remark as false, accusing Park of defaming the minister.

But the court martial acquitted Park of insubordination charges, concluding that he did not receive an explicit order from the Marine Corps chief on deferring the transfer of internal probe results to the police.

It also ruled in favor of Park on defamation charges, saying it is insufficient to judge that Park had the intention to defame his superior, based only on his remarks to the media.

The appeals trial will take place at the Seoul High Court, a civilian court, under a revised court martial law.