Gyeryongdae: President Lee Jae Myung on Wednesday awarded a medal to Col. Park Jung-hun, the chief Marine investigator who was acquitted in January of insubordination charges over his revelation that senior officials of the previous administration interfered in an initial probe into the 2023 death of a conscript.

According to Yonhap News Agency, Lee presented Park with the Order of National Security Merit, Samil Medal, which is the fourth-highest of the five-tier honor system, during a ceremony marking the 77th Armed Forces Day at the Gyeryongdae military headquarters.

Park had been indicted on insubordination charges after leading an internal probe into the death of Cpl. Chae Su-geun, who was swept away and killed during a search for flood victims in July 2023. The colonel defied orders to alter the probe’s initial findings and was dismissed as head of the Marine Corps investigation team the following month. He was reinstated to the current post in July after a special counsel dropped the appeal filed by military prosecutors.

The special probe is investigating former President Yoon Suk Yeol on allegations of pressuring then Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup to change the results of Park’s initial investigation.