As the opposition parties are pushing for the Corporal Chae Special Investigation Law concerning the death of a soldier who went missing during the search for a missing person, a recording of Battalion Commander of the 1st Marine Corps Division Lieutenant Colonel Lee was released by his lawyer on the 25th. This recording has been handed over to the Gyeongbuk Provincial Police Agency, which is in charge of the investigation.
According to the police, the day before the corporal’s incident on July 18 last year, Lee said in a call with the brigade commander, “I ordered the boys to wait in the car as it was raining too much.”
Then the brigade commander said, “The situation is uncertain enough to officially order a withdrawal. I suggested it to the division commander several times, but you know, from the first day. We have to do it this way to keep them strong. This is not going to last for just a day or two, so we shouldn’t let them lose their morale from the first day. They need to be strongly motivated.”
The brigade commander continued, “Even if the commander demonstrates good leadership not to conduct a reconnaissance patrol there, try to carry out the operation in that area anyway.”
Also, in the conversation between Lee and the operations chief of the 7th Division, the operations chief said, “The brigade commander just called. He asked if the division had withdrawn the army units, and when I said they had, he asked what we would do, so I told him that we followed the brigade commander’s order and continued as normal.”
The operations chief also said, “The brigade commander just called and said that the division commander is present and to continue as normal until 4 PM.”
In response, Division Commander Lim said, “I have not ordered the brigade commander, one of the operation control officers, to continue the search. I was with him at that time and the brigade commander asked for my opinion on when to end the operation, so I gave my opinion.” He added, “After evaluating the situation, the brigade commander suggested it to the commander of the 50th Army Division, who is in charge of the operational control, and it was decided after approval.”
On the day of the incident, the Army stopped the search, and only the Marine Corps continued the search.