By Jung Sung-ki
Staff reporter
Gen. Lee Sang-eui, outgoing chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), said Monday that he has sued a local newspaper for defaming his reputation.
Lee, who offered to retire Sunday to take responsibility for mishandling the sinking of one of the country's warships in March, said that the DongA Ilbo newspaper falsely reported last week that the JCS chairman had manipulated a document to make it appear that he was on normal duty at a command-and-control center in the JCS headquarters on the night of the March 26 sinking.
Lee was accused of having been sleeping off a drinking session as the Cheonan ship was sunk in western waters off the sea border with the North.
"I'm ready to give clear answers to every question by journalists throughout the night," Lee told reporters. "I will deal with this issue sternly even after retirement. I've filed complaints with the authorities against the newspaper company."
"It's an attack on my honor. I'll not sit idly by," he said.
Lee also denied reports that the Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) has recommended the Ministry of National Defense take criminal action against 12 of 25 military officers and civilian officials said to be responsible for mishandling the incident.
The BAI last week recommended that 25 top military officers and defense officials be disciplined for the sinking of the warship, caused by a North Korean torpedo attack.
The BAI didn't reveal the names of those facing such measures, but sources say those in key posts related to military operations, including Gen. Lee, will face dismissal as early as this week.
There are four three-star generals, two two-star generals, and five one-star generals who should share responsibility for the naval disaster, according to the BAI. Also included on the "black list" are nine colonels, one lieutenant colonel and two other senior officials of the defense ministry.
Announcing the interim outcome of its probe into the ship sinking, the BAI said that officers at the JCS and the Navy were negligent in maritime defense against a possible North Korean submarine infiltration.
They also failed to report the incident to the upper chain of command, apparently to avoid criticism over national defense loopholes, it said.