Ex-Army lieutenant general given 1-month suspension before retiring over Marine death case
Lim Ki-hoon, former secretary of defense, is seen at the office of the special prosecutor in southern Seoul, Aug. 8. Korea Times photo by Park Si-mon
A former Army lieutenant general was suspended from his post for a month before retiring in October over his alleged involvement in a cover-up case related to the 2023 death of a Marine, military officials said Monday.
Lim Ki-hoon, former secretary to the president for national defense and ex-president of the Korea National Defense University, was given a one-month suspension on Oct. 31, just six days shy of his scheduled discharge from service.
On Monday, the defense ministry confirmed that it had imposed a "heavy disciplinary measure" against Lim regarding the case. He was serving as presidential secretary for national defense under former President Yoon Suk Yeol at the time of the Marine death incident.
Lim is accused of his involvement in the overturning of preliminary investigation results into the death of Cpl. Chae Su-geun during a search mission for torrential rain victims in July 2023.
He is known to have attended a meeting where he briefed Yoon on the results of the preliminary probe that found a senior Marine commander responsible for Chae's death.
Yoon reportedly flew into a rage upon hearing the news and is suspected of exerting pressure to clear the initial suspects of responsibility.
A suspension involves removing a service member from duty and cutting two-thirds of wage, while restricting the prospect of future promotion.
A special counsel team investigating the Marine's death case has summoned Lim on three occasions but ultimately decided to drop the case.