Special counsel indicts eight in suicide of sexually abused Air Force sergeant

The 100-day special counsel investigation into the sexual abuse of Air Force Master Sgt. Lee Ye-ram came to a close on Tuesday, with eight officers indicted on new charges.

Special counsel Ahn Mi-young told a news conference that the officers of the Air Force’s 20th fighter wing where Lee served appear to have sought to help the perpetrator rather than the victim, and that the military investigators did not actively work to bring justice.

“Let this be a warning that when the armed forces investigate their own and attempt a cover-up, there will be consequences,” she said, adding that she worked with the “determination to fix the old flaws of the military criminal justice systems.”

Ahn was appointed in May to revisit Lee’s case, after a previous investigation led by military authorities failed to indict any of the high-ranking officers.

On March 2, 2021, Lee was kissed and groped by another master sergeant, known by his surname Chang, against her will. When she reported the incident to her superiors, they tried to silence her. Investigations by military police and prosecutors was repeatedly put on hold. Just about two months later on May 21 of the same year, she took her own life. She was 23.

Among the eight indicted on Tuesday are the battalion commander and commander of the 20th fighter wing, who were Lee’s immediate superiors.

Ahn said the battalion commander, 44, falsely reported to the Air Force personnel department that the military police had asked that Chang stay put until after the investigation. The commander, 29, made “false and damaging” comments about Lee in at least one conversation with the commander of another fighter wing, saying that she was “going after” her colleagues with lawsuits.

These amounted to dereliction of duty and defamation, respectively, the special counsel said.

The special counsel found that a 29-year-old military prosecutor put off the investigation for “no justifiable reason” and that in a report to the Air Force’s prosecuting service wrongly attributed the delay to Lee’s own request. Then after she died, he spread information about her personal life that he obtained while he was on the case in group chats with colleagues.

It amounted to a dereliction of duty and disclosure of official secrets, she said.

Ahn said the investigation revealed a 45-year-old officer who was in charge of public communications at the time told at least three reporters that Lee’s suicide was due to her own marriage troubles, not sexual abuse. He was indicted for defamation.

The head of the Air Force legal affairs department, Jeon Ik-soo, 52, was indicted for abusing his power to obstruct justice. He made phone calls to the military prosecutor who was investigating him in an apparent attempt to pressure him, the special counsel said.

Jeon received confidential information about people who stepped up to give witness accounts from a military court officer, 49, who was also indicted for leaking official secrets.

Finally, the special counsel brought a new charge of defamation against Chang, the master sergeant who sexually harassed Lee. He told his colleagues and superiors within the Air Force that Lee was lying about what happened and that he was being wrongly accused.

In the second trial held in June, Chang was given seven years by the military court over sexual abuse and other charges.

Separately, a former Air Force legal officer and lawyer was indicted for distributing fabricated evidence over the course of the initial investigation.

The National Forensic Service’s psychological autopsy report, also released Tuesday, said Lee was likely left feeling helpless after seeing members of the institution where she belonged turn against her, and the criminal justice response fumbled.

By Kim Arin (arin@heraldcorp.com)