SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol was acquitted Friday in a case related to a marine’s drowning death in a rare reprieve in one of the criminal cases brought against him following his ouster for imposing martial law.

The independent counsel’s indictment had alleged Yoon deliberately appointed former Defense Minister Lee Jong-Sup as his ambassador to Australia to help him leave the country and evade a criminal investigation into the death of Cpl. Chae Su-geun, who drowned during a search-and-rescue operation for flood victims in 2023.