Ex-chief prosecutor appears for special counsel questioning over former defense chief's alleged flight

Former Prosecutor General Shim Woo-jung appeared before a special counsel team Tuesday to be questioned as a suspect for the first time in connection to former Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup's alleged flight to Australia last year. Shim entered special counsel Lee Myeong-hyeon's office in southern Seoul without responding to reporters' questions about his suspected involvement in Lee's alleged flight in March 2024, after being appointed as Seoul's top envoy to Canberra. Lee had been under investigation at the time over allegations of government interference in a military probe into the 2023 death of a young Marine. He had been placed under an exit ban, which was quickly lifted after his appointment as ambassador that month. The special counsel team suspects that government officials, including Shim who served as vice justice minister at the time, assisted Lee to avoid investigation through his appointment and the lifting of the exit ban. Lee ultimately returned home soon after his departure amid mounting controversy. The team is expected to question Shim about possible instructions from thWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times