A special counsel team indicted the head and deputy chief of the Corruption Investigation Office (CIO) without detention on Wednesday for dereliction of duty linked to the probe into a young Marine's 2023 death. This marks the first indictment of the agency's leadership since its 2021 establishment. The case involves alleged interference by former President Yoon Suk Yeol's administration.
The special counsel team indicted CIO Chief Prosecutor Oh Dong-woon and Deputy Chief Lee Jae-seung without detention on charges of dereliction of duty related to the investigation into the 2023 death of a young Marine. They are accused of failing to notify the Supreme Prosecutors' Office for 11 months after a criminal complaint was filed against CIO prosecutor Song Chang-jin in August 2024, as required by law. Democratic Party lawmakers had filed the complaint against Song for allegedly lying under oath at the National Assembly about his knowledge of an individual linked to the Marine death case.
The special counsel believes no action was taken on the complaint because the agency viewed it as a political attack on its leadership. Separately, the team alleges that some CIO officials, including Song, obstructed the agency's investigation into the Marine death allegations to prevent it from targeting former President Yoon Suk Yeol. The team indicted Song on charges of abuse of authority for obstructing efforts to obtain search-and-seizure warrants against Yoon and former Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup in connection with the case.
This development follows the team's indictment last week of Yoon on charges of exerting undue pressure on the military's investigation into Cpl. Chae Su-geun's death in July 2023. The CIO, established in 2021 to probe high-ranking officials, has now seen its leadership indicted for the first time, raising questions about its independence.
