A special counsel team is questioning former Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup for the first time on his alleged role in impeding the investigation into the death of a Marine.

Lee appeared at special counsel Lee Myeong-hyeon’s office in southern Seoul around 10 a.m. Wednesday.

The special counsel suspects that former President Yoon Suk Yeol appointed Lee ambassador to Australia to allow him to leave South Korea and avoid the investigation.

While heading to the office, Lee told reporters that he would faithfully cooperate with the special counsel but dismissed allegations regarding the lifting of his travel ban as "absurd." 

The special counsel team planned to grill Lee on the entire sequence of events, including his appointment as ambassador, his departure and return and his resignation. 

The former defense minister was placed under a travel ban after being implicated in the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials' investigation of the Marine's 2023 death.

He was then appointed ambassador to Australia on March 4 of last year, and the travel ban was lifted four days later, allowing him to leave the country.

Amid public backlash, Lee returned just eleven days after his departure, purportedly to attend an ambassadors' meeting, and subsequently resigned from his post.