May 9, 2024, Yongsan Presidential Office
Q. Why was former minister Lee Jong-seop appointed ambassador to Australia? Did you know about the ban on leaving the country?
[윤석열 대통령]
″First of all, the ban on leaving the country is completely unknown even to the government agency that checks the personnel. I would like to first tell you that this is a security issue and if it leaks out, you will be subject to criminal sanctions.
And Australia is the only country other than the United States that has 2+2 diplomatic and defense talks with us. It is a country that has a deep connection to our economy and our security. Furthermore, in relation to our defense exports, not only are we receiving orders for weapons such as the K9, K2 and Redback, but we have also recently received orders for a huge number of ships from the Australian Navy. Minister Lee Jong-seop has made great efforts to export the defense industry and achieved significant achievements during his tenure. Therefore, since the current Australian ambassador was supposed to retire at the end of December last year, Minister Lee Jong-seop was appointed as the Australian ambassador and went through the verification process of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other similar procedures.
And I found out from the article that it was reported to the Corruption Investigation Bureau around September last year, but if the Corruption Investigation Bureau had issued a summons or something like that, we would have looked into it, but in fact, many cases were reported to the Corruption Investigation Bureau. There are probably many politicians and ministers in our country who have been reported to the Corruption Investigation Bureau. However, this does not mean that all cases will be treated. For example, if an in-depth investigation is conducted and a subpoena is conducted, or if an investigation is conducted, we may look into any judicial risks and reconsider staff appointments, but the matter has been reported to the Corruption Investigation Bureau and the same also applies to the prosecutor’s office and the police. If you don’t salute someone just because you’ve been accused of something, I think it will be very difficult to get appointed to public office.
Also, I understand that once the ambassadorial agreement expired, the Australian government granted it in March, late February or early March, probably January. It is said that the ban on leaving the country is usually imposed at the end of the year, but when the ban on leaving the country is imposed, it is rare to ban people who have not been summoned, and when the ban on leaving the country country is imposed, they must be summoned. Even though I have been doing this kind of investigative work for a long time, I find it difficult to understand that they were supposed to withdraw the money for a month without even summoning me, but they extended the time twice and still didn’t summon me. Yes, I will answer like that.”
Q. There is a lot of public opinion in favor of “Special Prosecutor Corporal Chae”, but if they reject him, why? What is your position on the suspicion of intervention by the Office of the President?
″You’re asking a question that inevitably leads to a rather long answer. Even as Commander-in-Chief of the Republic of Korea Armed Forces, it is unfortunate and truly heartbreaking that a young Marine with such a bright future as Gu Man-ri died in the line of duty during a population support operation. Therefore, in order to prevent the recurrence of such incidents, restore the honor of the victims and determine who is responsible, it is necessary to conduct a thorough investigation of the truth.
I always tell military, police and firefighters to evaluate their own safety first when carrying out any official duty. And I was Private Chae at the time. Because it’s not posthumous yet. After hearing the news of the accident that killed him while on duty, I also reprimanded the Minister of National Defense. I also went there a few days ago, but it’s not about saving survivors, but rather about recovering the body of a deceased person. Why are they behaving so unreasonably and causing such a deadly accident? Furthermore, there is still no summer and floods, typhoons and other similar events may occur, so although we will conduct a public campaign in the future, we have made a somewhat scolding request that something like this never happens.
The police and the Corruption Investigation Bureau are currently conducting an investigation, and the case will then be transferred to the prosecutor’s office, go through a second additional investigation, and those likely to be charged will go to court. I believe that the investigators currently in charge of this investigation and those who will be responsible for the trial in the future will work hard to uncover the truth with the same regret of me and our citizens, and with the same regret of Corporal Chae’s family. there is. How is it possible that this case was handled so brutally and will surely be revealed once the investigation is conducted?
This is not done by the military, but is ultimately handed over to a civilian judicial agency to investigate the truth. This is something that distorts the truth and takes care of the person responsible, and places the blame for everything on the person who is not responsible or is weak. responsibility. In and of itself, I don’t think that’s possible. So, in any case, I will carefully observe what is happening now, and once all procedures are completed, the investigating authorities will probably explain in detail to the public the progress and results of the investigation. There is a suspicion that audiences will not watch this, I understand. If you say no, then I will be the first to support a special investigation.
However, even if we consider the purpose of the special prosecution, I think it is right to first look at the ongoing investigation and judicial process, and further trust and observe the mentality and attitude of those involved in the investigation.”
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