Special counsel denies violating Status of Forces Agreement during air base search

▲ Assistant special counsel Park Ji-young speaks during a briefing at the Seoul High Prosecutors Office in southern Seoul, in this file photo taken Aug. 29, 2025. (Yonhap)

special counsel-air base raid

Special counsel denies violating Status of Forces Agreement during air base search

SEOUL, Oct. 16 (Yonhap) -- A special counsel team on Thursday denied violating the bilateral Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) on hosting U.S. troops in South Korea when it searched an air base jointly run by the allies earlier this year, after the U.S. military lodged a complaint over the incident.

In July, special counsel Cho Eun-suk's team carried out a search and seizure at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, 60 kilometers south of Seoul, as part of its investigation into former President Yoon Suk Yeol's martial law bid.

According to a diplomatic source, the U.S. Forces Korea Deputy Commander Lt. Gen. David Iverson recently sent a letter to the foreign ministry protesting the search.

While the team searched an Air Force Master Control & Reporting Center operated by the South Korean military, the U.S. military reportedly took issue, believing it should have been consulted beforehand, considering investigators would have to go through areas under its control.

"It is not true that the special counsel's search and seizure violated the agreement," assistant special counsel Park Ji-young said in a briefing, referring to the allies' SOFA that governs the legal status of U.S. forces in South Korea.

Park said her team's investigators were authorized to enter the facility in advance and were escorted by South Korean troops to the area in question in accordance to a memorandum of understanding between the allies.

She said the team presented a court-issued warrant at the location and received documents listed in the warrant in a voluntary way, noting there were no search activities in other locations.

Meanwhile, Park said her team would not summon Yoon again for questioning after he appeared before the team Wednesday.

Yoon reportedly exercised his right to remain silent during the near nine-hour session.

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