Former Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup was revealed to have had multiple communications with the chief of the presidential security service during a military investigation into the death of a Marine conscript. The communication records, obtained by Yonhap News Agency, are being scrutinized by the anti-corruption investigation office amid allegations of inappropriate interference by the presidential office and defense ministry in the probe. The incident in question involved the death of Cpl. Chae Su-geun during a search mission in July last year, leading to an internal investigation by the Marine Corps. The former chief investigator of the Marines, Col. Park Jung-hun, prepared a report implicating military officials in negligence resulting in Chae's death, but the report was retrieved from the police by the defense ministry, and Park was subsequently dismissed and investigated for disobedience. Communication records indicate that Lee had multiple phone calls or text messages with the presidential security service chief and received calls from high-ranking officials in the days following the retrieval of the investigation report. This series of events culminated in the defense ministry ordering a reconsideration of Chae's case by its investigation unit. Additionally, there were suspicions among Marine reservists that the accused Marine division commander may have attempted to evade investigation using personal connections, including the presidential security chief.