(LEAD) Ex-commander sentenced to 3 yrs in prison over 2023 death of young...

(LEAD) ex-commander-Marine death

(LEAD) Ex-commander sentenced to 3 yrs in prison over 2023 death of young Marine

(ATTN: UPDATES throughout with details)

SEOUL, May 8 (Yonhap) -- A Seoul court on Friday sentenced a former Marine commander to three years in prison in connection with the death of a young Marine during a search mission for victims of heavy rains in 2023.

The Seoul Central District Court handed down the sentence for Lim Seong-geun, a retired two-star general and former commander of the 1st Marine Division, finding him guilty of failing to uphold safety obligations during the operation.

A special counsel team had sought a five-year sentence for Lim, accusing him of negligently causing the Marine's death when he ordered the search operation in Yecheon, some 160 kilometers southeast of Seoul, in July 2023 without providing life vests and other safety equipment.

Cpl. Chae Su-geun, who was involved in the operation, died after being swept away in a swollen stream.

Lim Seong-geun, a retired two-star general and former commander of the 1st Marine Division, speaks as he appears at a special counsel team's office in southern Seoul in this file photo taken Aug. 19, 2025. (Yonhap)

The court ruled that Lim's orders at the time increased operational risks and he did not fulfill his professional duties of providing safety equipment even while being aware of troops carrying out underwater search efforts.

It also found him guilty of making orders to troops despite the mission's operational control being transferred to the Army at the time.

"Due to this accident, Chae, a 20-year-old Marine, lost his precious life four months after enlisting," the court said, saying Lim's "unreasonable and wrongful" orders had directly led troops to enter the stream.

"Had (he) left the operation without intervening, it appears the search could have proceeded normally, making (him) most responsible for the incident."

The court also sentenced other Marine officials indicted in the case, including an 18-month prison term without forced labor for Park Sang-hyun, former commander of the 7th Marine Brigade.

The special counsel team was launched last year to investigate the case, along with allegations that the then administration of former President Yoon Suk Yeol had sought to interfere with a military probe into Chae's death.

While the initial probe had named Lim as one of eight suspects in the case, a follow-up investigation by defense ministry investigators had dropped him from the list.