CIO attempts to raid presidential office over marine's death

The anti-corruption investigative agency attempted to conduct a search and seizure at the presidential office Wednesday as part of an investigation into allegations that former President Yoon Suk Yeol influenced the outcome of a military investigation into the death of a young marine in July 2023.

The Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials announced that its prosecutors and investigators were dispatched to the presidential National Security Office and secretary's office in Yongsan-gu, central Seoul, early Wednesday.

But the agency later revealed its decision to suspend execution of the search and seizure warrant at 5:30 p.m.

Though specific reasons for suspending the warrant execution were not disclosed, the CIO explained that it will continue to consult with the presidential office to carry out the operation.

The search and seizure warrant reportedly identified Yoon as a suspect on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of the exercise of rights.

Wednesday’s attempt by the CIO was an additional measure to probe Yoon’s alleged interference in the military's investigation of the death of Cpl. Chae Su-geun, a marine who drowned during a 2023 rescue mission, after the agency recently conducted a forensic analysis of the smartphone of the marine commander, Maj. Gen. Lim Seong-geun.

Lim, who had commanded the 1st Division of the Marine Corps, was accused of occupational negligence leading to manslaughter, and of abuse of power related to Chae’s death in July 2023.

It was reported that Lim did not instruct Chae’s unit to wear life jackets and ordered the young marines to conduct a rescue mission without proper equipment in a flooded area.

But the commander was not implicated in the case under orders from high-ranking officials in the Defense Ministry.

After the Center for Military Human Rights Korea, an advocacy group, revealed that the presidential office had received detailed reports about the marine’s death, suspicions grew regarding Yoon's possible interference in the military’s investigation, which led to the charges against Lim being dropped.

The CIO started to probe the case in mid-2023, but the investigation was put on hold until recently, as most of the agency’s resources were allocated to investigating the former president's alleged insurrection and his short-lived martial law declaration.