The main opposition Democratic Party(DP) has denounced a decision by the police to not refer to the prosecution a former Marine commander accused of being responsible for the death of Marine Corporal Chae Su-geun.

DP floor spokesperson Yoon Jong-kun said in a statement on Monday that the police decision regarding former commander of the Marine Corps' First Division Lim Seong-geun clearly demonstrates why a special counsel probe is needed for the case. 

The floor spokesperson said President Yoon Suk Yeol would be gravely mistaken if he believes he can now veto a bill seeking a special counsel probe into handling Chae’s death report by using the police’s decision as a pretext. 

Yoon urged the president to cooperate in efforts to get to the bottom of Chae’s death by swiftly accepting the special probe bill. 

Earlier in the day, the Gyeongbuk Provincial Police Agency unveiled its decision not to refer Lim and two others to the prosecution while referring six others, including the head of the First Division's Seventh Brigade and the Eleventh Artillery battalion commander, on charges of causing death by occupational and gross negligence.