South Korea’s ousted former President Yoon Suk Yeol arrives to attend his trial at the Seoul Central District Court in Seoul, South Korea, May 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, Pool, File)
Then South Korea’s Minister of National Defense, Lee Jong-sup, attends the 20th International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) Shangri-La Dialogue, Asia’s annual defense and security forum in Singapore, Saturday, June 3, 2023. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian, File)
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.
But the Seoul Central District Court ruled it was unclear whether Yoon’s appointment was intended to disrupt the investigation. Yoon said he appointed Lee as ambassador to promote military cooperation with Canberra, and his lawyers welcomed the court’s verdict while calling on prosecutors not to appeal.
