A former Marine division chief accused of causing the death of a Marine corporal in 2023 has denied the charges against him.

Lawyers for Lim Seong-geun, former Marine Corps First Division commander, told the court during the first day of Thursday's trial, in which Lim and several other defendants face charges in connection with the case, that there was no causal relationship between their client's actions and the corporal's death.

Lim's lawyers denied charges of occupational and gross negligence causing death and injury.

Two senior officers who were charged alongside Lim both denied the charges against them at the same hearing, and Lee Yong-min, former Seventh Battalion commander and a then-company commander, surnamed Jang, admitted negligence.

Lee's lawyers argued that the absolute, fundamental and active responsibility for the accident lies with Lim.

According to prosecutors, Lim and the others ordered Marines to lead a search-and-rescue mission in the southeastern city of Yecheon, North Gyeongsang Province, in July 2023, without providing them with proper safety equipment such as life jackets.

A corporal was swept away by a current and later found dead, and a sergeant who was rescued spent a month in the hospital.