South Korea's top military officer said Monday he filed a libel lawsuit against a newspaper for carrying a report alleging he falsified a document to avoid responsibility for the deadly sinking of a warship blamed on North Korea.
The suit by Gen. Lee Sang-eui, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, came a day after he submitted his application for retirement amid criticism that he allegedly neglected some of his duties when the 1,200-ton Cheonan was attacked.
"Even after I retire, I will sternly deal with this matter," Lee told reporters. "I filed the complaint in court today," he said, without identifying the name of the newspaper that he says defamed him.
Lee has been accused of allegedly fabricating the document to show that he was present in the military's control and command center on the night of March 26 when North Korea torpedoed the Cheonan, killing 46 sailors.
The top general admitted he was absent from the defense ministry's command and control center for about three hours to take a rest on the night.
However, he strongly dismissed the allegation of document manipulation, saying he took several measures by verbal order before leaving the command center. After returning to the center, he signed the document by adding additional measures.
"So, it is not true I manipulated the document to pretend I was at the command and control center," Lee said. "It was a normal procedure of adding orders."
The allegation, however, deepens people's mistrust on the military's response to the Cheonan incident.
Last week, state auditors found "many problems" in the military's initial response to the attack, including a failure to take necessary steps against a potential North Korean torpedo attack despite an earlier tip-off.