Two Former Defense Officials Get Deferred Sentences for False Answers on 'Pressure in Probe Into Marine's Death'
Court: "Responses Submitted to National Assembly Were False"
Two former Ministry of National Defense officials who reviewed plans to downsize the military investigative organization in connection with allegations of pressure on the investigation into the death of a Marine, but then submitted false responses to the National Assembly denying that they had done so, received deferred sentences.
The Seoul Central District Court's Criminal Division 27, presided over by Judge Woo In-seong, on November 6 deferred the sentencing of Yoo Gyunhye, former director general for planning and management at the Ministry of National Defense, to six months in prison, and Lee Gapjun, former director general for organizational affairs at the ministry, to four months in prison. A deferred sentence is a ruling that recognizes a defendant's guilt but postpones the imposition of a sentence. If two years pass from the date the sentence is deferred, the case is generally deemed dismissed under the Criminal Procedure Act, barring special circumstances.
The two had been brought to trial on charges of submitting false responses to the National Assembly in 2023, claiming that they had not reviewed any related plans, despite having considered plans to downsize the military investigative organization within the Ministry of National Defense.
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The court ruled that the responses submitted to the National Assembly were false because the officials had in fact reviewed plans to downsize the military investigative organization. It noted that although they were not obligated to comply with the National Assembly's requests for materials, any responses they did submit had to be truthful. However, the court found that it would have been difficult for the two to respond truthfully to the National Assembly, given that their superiors had instructed them to treat the downsizing plan as if it had never existed and the Ministry of National Defense had also denied related media reports.
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