Ex president acquitted in rare legal reprieve

Former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol was acquitted last 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 that Yoon deliberately appointed former Defence Minister Lee Jong-Sup as his ambassador to Australia to help him leave the country and evade a criminal investigation into the death of Chae Su-geun, who drowned during a search-and-rescue operation for flood victims in 2023.

But the Seoul Central District Court ruled that 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.

Yoon’s former justice minister and presidential security director were among other defendants also acquitted of charges that they colluded with Yoon to help Lee sidestep the investigation. Prosecutors didn’t immediately say whether they would appeal Friday’s verdict.

A separate indictment alleges that Yoon and other officials tried to cover up and manipulate the investigation into Chae’s death, which sparked a public uproar after it emerged that military commanders had ordered soldiers to conduct search operations without life vests and other safety equipment.

An early investigation by the marine corps held a division commander and seven other people responsible for Chae’s death. But Yoon expressed fury over the commander’s inclusion, prompting senior presidential and Defence Ministry officials to pressure the marine corps to revise the report to exclude the commander, according to prosecutors.

Prosecutors said the then-head of the marines’ investigation team, Park Jung-hun, defied the pressure and sent the report to police and that Yoon subsequently ordered officials to retrieve the report from police and dismiss Park, who was investigated for insubordination.

Yoon was formally removed from office in April 2025 and has faced multiple criminal trials after President Lee Jae Myung approved special investigations into his martial law imposition and several other matters, including Chae’s death.

He has appealed the conviction and life sentence for rebellion, which was the most serious charge stemming from his brief imposition of martial law in December 2024. Yoon’s martial law decree lasted only hours, after a quorum of lawmakers managed to break through a blockade of heavily armed soldiers and voted to revoke the measure, forcing his Cabinet to lift it.