Kim Hwa-dong, commander of the 1st Brigade of the 2nd Marine Division, has denied charges of committing perjury in a military court with the intent to have former Marine Corps Investigation Group Leader Park Jung-hun criminally punished.
During the first formal trial held at the Seoul Central District Court on July 1, presided over by Judge Woo In-sung of the 27th Criminal Agreement Division, Colonel Kim’s legal team argued, "The charges do not hold, and he should be acquitted."
Colonel Kim’s defense stated, "For the crime of perjury with intent to harm to be established, the defendant must have intentionally provided false testimony while aware that it was false," adding, "It must be proven that Colonel Kim intentionally gave false testimony to the detriment of Park Jung-hun."
They further argued, "The defendant testified based on remarks made by his superiors during the meeting at the time, and it is difficult to characterize this as false testimony."
The defense added, "Colonel Kim only had a professional relationship with former Investigation Group Leader Park at the time, and there was no conflict of interest, nor was there any specific motive to cause harm, such as a personal grudge."
Furthermore, they claimed that the indictment should be dismissed, arguing that "this case is not subject to investigation under the Special Counsel Act, and therefore the Special Counsel's indictment is not lawful."
Colonel Kim, who served as the chief of staff to former Marine Corps Commandant Kim Gye-hwan at the time of the death of Corporal Chae Su-geun, is accused of committing perjury during a military court appearance in March 2024 by testifying that the former commandant had ordered Park to withhold the transfer of investigation records.
The Special Counsel team investigating the death of the Marine believes that Colonel Kim provided false testimony detrimental to former Investigation Group Leader Park, despite no such order actually being given.
Former Investigation Group Leader Park, who led the initial investigation into the death of Corporal Chae, exposed that there had been undue external pressure during the investigation process, including the so-called VIP fury allegations.
Park was subsequently indicted by military prosecutors on charges including insubordination, but was acquitted in the first trial in January 2025. The ruling was finalized in July 2025 when the Special Counsel withdrew its appeal.
Meanwhile, the Marine Corps placed Colonel Kim on suspension due to indictment in January.
When a suspension due to indictment is issued, the individual typically receives only 50 percent of their salary and cannot be assigned to other positions until a final verdict is reached on the charges.
(Photo: Yonhap News)