◀ Again ▶
Lim Seong-geun, former commander of the 1st Marine Corps Division, has always maintained that he never ordered an underwater search because the Army had the authority to control the scene at the time of Corporal Chae’s accident, and therefore did not Is responsable.
However, new evidence has emerged that contradicts that claim.
It was revealed that former division commander Lim issued the operation order in his name.
This is reporter Jaeyoung Cho.
◀ Report ▶
Former division commander Lim Seong-geun repeatedly made claims about Corporal Chae’s death, saying: “I never gave an underwater search order” and “I had no control over the operation at the time.”
The affidavit submitted to the court in November last year also contained the statement: “The instructions of the commander of the 1st Marine Division, that is, mine, were effective until the transfer of operational control, and after that, it was the command of the commander of the 50th Division of the army.”
However, new circumstances emerged where former division commander Lim took actions that directly contradicted his claims.
On July 17, 2023, two days before Corporal Chae lost his life, operational control was transferred to the Army at 10 am.
From this point on, former division commander Lim will no longer have to issue operational orders.
However, at 9:55 that night, approximately 12 hours later, a task order was issued in the name of the division commander to carry out a “heavy rain damage recovery operation”.
[김경호 변호사/해병대 포7대대장 법률대리인]
“This is a direct violation of orders from the Joint Chiefs of Staff and 2nd Operational Command. The order itself is a problem, and the problem is that there were no security measures in accordance with the order.”
Immediately afterwards, around 10 pm, messages were exchanged in the KakaoTalk room of the artillery battalion: “Tomorrow’s task will be the search for missing persons”, “Search focused on water prices” and “The emphasis of the division commander “.
Following the unauthorized order to carry out an operation to “repair damage caused by heavy rain”, a specific order was given to change the operation to “search for missing persons”.
Marine Corps soldiers, including Corporal Chae, were required to follow instructions to “search carefully in a checkerboard pattern” in rainy weather, without any safety equipment.
[이 모 씨/채 상병 부대 해병대원(전역)]
“Is this the division commander? Is this what the Minister of National Defense does? If so, I don’t even know why they took the soldiers and why we serve here…”
In response to an MBC reporter’s question about whether former division commander Lim’s specific work instructions constituted a violation of operational control, the Marine Corps Command simply stated: “We cannot answer as these are an ongoing issue.”
I’m Jo Jae-young from MBC News.
Video editing: Jo Min-seo
MBC News awaits your reports 24 hours a day.
▷ Telephone 02-784-4000
▷ Email mbcjebo@mbc.co.kr
▷ Kakao Talk Report @mbc
#gave #order #Lim #Seonggeun #gave #orders #authority
