Former Prosecutor General Shim Woo-jung appears for questioning as a suspect in Marine Corps special counsel probe... Investigation into the lifting of travel ban on Lee Jong-sup

Was Vice Justice Minister at the time of Lee's ambassadorial appointment... Remains silent on questions regarding the 'lifting of travel ban'

Cho Tae-yul testifies, "There was an instruction from Yoon for the defense industry mission chief meeting that led to Lee's return"

Former Prosecutor General Shim Woo-jung arrives for special counsel questioning (Seoul=Yonhap News) Reporter Kim In-chul = Former Prosecutor General Shim Woo-jung arrives at the special counsel's office in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on the 30th to be questioned as a suspect regarding the alleged flight of former Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup to Australia. 2025.9.30 yatoya@yna.co.kr

The special counsel team led by Lee Myung-hyun, which is investigating the alleged flight of former Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup to Australia, summoned former Prosecutor General Shim Woo-jung (former Vice Minister of Justice) as a suspect for the first time on the 30th.

Upon his arrival at approximately 9:55 a.m., Shim remained silent and headed toward the interrogation room, ignoring reporters' questions such as, "Did the Personnel Information Management Group report that there were no issues with appointing Minister Lee as ambassador?", "Were you aware of the travel ban on Minister Lee?", "Did you suggest lifting the travel ban prior to the review?", and "As a former prosecutor, is it acceptable to let a suspect flee the country?"

Shim is suspected of aiding a criminal and abuse of power, having been involved in the series of events surrounding the appointment of former Minister Lee as ambassador to Australia, the lifting of his travel ban, and his subsequent departure in March of last year while serving as Vice Minister of Justice.

The special counsel team is expected to question Shim on the circumstances behind the sudden lifting of the travel ban on former Minister Lee and whether there were instructions from superiors, including the Presidential Office.

This is the first time Shim has been questioned by the Marine Corps special counsel.

Former Minister Lee, who was in charge of defense affairs when Marine Cpl. Chae died in July 2023, was a key suspect in the investigation into alleged interference in the case by the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO). Although a travel ban had been placed on him, he was suddenly appointed ambassador to Australia on March 4 of last year, and the travel ban was lifted four days later, allowing him to leave the country.

At the time, the Ministry of Justice stated that the reasons for lifting the ban included the fact that the travel ban had been extended several times without any special investigation, that Lee had previously undergone questioning, and that he had expressed his intent to cooperate actively with the investigation.

After public opinion deteriorated rapidly following his departure, former Minister Lee returned to Korea under the pretext of attending a meeting of diplomatic mission chiefs for defense industry cooperation held on March 25 of that year. He resigned on the 29th of the same month.

To secure physical evidence supporting the criminal allegations, the special counsel team conducted search and seizure operations last month on former Ministry of Justice officials at the time, including former Minister Park Sung-jae, former Prosecutor General Shim, and former Vice Minister Lee No-kong, and questioned former Vice Minister Lee on the 23rd.

Furthermore, in the process of questioning Ministry of Justice officials, the team obtained testimony that former Minister Park and former Prosecutor General Shim had instructed working-level staff in charge of travel bans to "handle the lifting of the ban since former Minister Lee has been appointed ambassador."

The special counsel team is also investigating signs that the defense industry mission chief meeting, which served as the pretext for former Minister Lee's return, was hastily arranged.

Former Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul reportedly testified during his suspect interrogation on the 24th that the meeting of mission chiefs was held under the "instruction of former President Yoon Suk-yeol."

It is reported that the special counsel team has also obtained testimony from Cho that "former President Yoon ordered that former Minister Lee be called back before (other ambassadors)."

Former Minister Cho, who served as Foreign Minister under the Yoon Suk-yeol administration from January of last year, was the official responsible for the entire process, including the appointment, departure, and subsequent resignation of former Minister Lee upon his return. Yonhap News