Besieged envoy returns amid pressure for probe
Lee Jong-sup remains confident as investigation makes slow progress
Lee Jong-sup, the Korean ambassador to Australia, returned home, Thursday, only 11 days after he flew to assume his new role, and urged the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) to question him over allegations of using his status to influence an investigation into the death of a Marine.
His earlier-than-expected return has mainly to do with the CIO’s incomplete investigation into the besieged former defense minister, as evidenced by the fact that other key suspects involved in the case have yet to face inquiries.
Lee’s appointment has drawn a fierce backlash, with President Yoon Suk Yeol being criticized for “evacuating a criminal suspect.” According to the foreign ministry, Lee’s official trip to Korea is to attend a meeting of diplomatic mission chiefs related to defense industry cooperation.
After the foreign ministry announced Lee’s arrival schedule, the CIO said in a statement to reporters, “We have no comment on the timing of the ambassador’s subpoena,” and added, “The schedule will be fixed depending on the progress of the investigation.”
The CIO’s stance is in line with its sluggish progress in the investigation.
The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) filed complaints with the CIO over the Marine’s death in September last year. But the CIO began on-site investigations only in January by searching the offices of related ranking military officials, such as Marine Corps Commander Kim Gye-hwan.
On March 7, just three days before Lee flew to Australia, he voluntarily appeared at the CIO and underwent four hours of questioning and the investigative authority said at the time that an “additional subpoena is necessary.”
“Given that Lee voluntarily appeared for investigations on March 7 and the CIO said it needs to summon the ambassador again, it appears that the CIO’s investigations have yet to reach the point of questioning high-ranking officials like Lee,” said a Seoul-based lawyer who served as a former prosecutor. “This means that the CIO is still collecting testimonies from working-level officials and analyzing evidences it seized.”
In line with this view, the CIO has yet to summon other ranking officials related to the case, such as Marine Corps Commander Kim or then-Vice Defense Minister Shin Beom-chul.
Against this backdrop, even if Lee stays in Korea for a relatively long period, chances are slim for the CIO to summon him immediately and reveal his critical misdeeds, which will negatively affect the ruling bloc’s campaigns for the general elections.
While the CIO remains underprepared, the ruling People Power Party (PPP) stressed Lee’s remarks that he seeks an opportunity to appear for questioning and denounced the DPK, claiming that the main opposition “is using Lee’s case to win votes.”
“This is a matter that can be resolved through legal procedures, but the DPK is branding the ambassador as a subject of political instigation and strife,” the PPP said in a statement. “The DPK has been calling for Lee’s return. Now it is time to watch how their election strategy changes.”
In response, the DPK shifted its focus from Lee’s return to Yoon’s dismissal of the ambassador.
DPK leaders staged a protest against Lee at the airport starting at 5 a.m. Wednesday, with its floor leader Rep. Hong Ihk-pyo and Rep. Park Ju-min holding banners urging Yoon’s dismissal of “criminal suspect Lee Jong-sup” during the protest. Regarding Lee’s comments seeking an investigation, DPK spokesperson Kang Sun-woo said “is this something a suspect in his right mind under investigation can say?”
The floor leader said in a party meeting at the National Assembly that “the point of this case is whether the president exerted his influence on the case through the key man, Lee Jong-sup,” and “suspect Lee’s appointment itself is a wrong decision.”
Upon his arrival, Lee told reporters that he had already said several times that suspicions surrounding him were not true and dismissed questions on his intention to resign.
Lee’s return came after not only the opposition parties but also the PPP also criticized Yoon’s decision to appoint Lee as the ambassador. PPP interim leader Han Dong-hoon urged Lee to return and face questioning, while other big name candidates of the ruling bloc echoed that the appointment “did not meet the public’s expectations.”
Against this backdrop, the six ambassadors’ meeting is seen as an outcome of Yoon’s decision, because it was created for the first time and is to take place just a month before all heads of Korea’s overseas diplomatic missions gather in Korea for their annual meeting. Considering that recalling Lee back home merely 11 days into his tenure could be interpreted as a diplomatic discourtesy to Australia, it is also assumed that it was a decision made at the highest level.
As Lee returned home and expressed his intention to cooperate with investigators, Yoon is now able to deal with criticism against administration, silence the opposition camp’s protests and address discord within the ruling bloc before the general elections.