Final Investigation Results Announced... Investigation Closed on North Korean Soldier Who Shot and Killed Government Official
Park Sang-chun, Chief of Incheon Maritime Police Agency, is giving the final investigation briefing on the "North Korean Shooting of Public Official Incident" on the 16th. [Photo by Yonhap News]
[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyesook] The Coast Guard has reached a final conclusion that it cannot definitively determine that the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries official, who went missing two years ago in the northern West Sea near Soyeonpyeongdo and was killed by North Korean soldiers, defected to North Korea.
This overturns the previous investigation results, which had leaned toward defection based on military intelligence and the official's gambling debts, causing controversy.
On the 16th, the Incheon Coast Guard held a press briefing on the final investigation results and announced that Mr. A (47 years old at the time of death), a fisheries guidance officer belonging to the West Sea Fisheries Guidance Unit of the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, who went missing in September 2020 at sea near Soyeonpyeongdo, Ongjin-gun, Incheon, and was shot dead in North Korean waters, could not be found to have moved to North Korean waters with the intention of defecting.
Park Sangchun, Chief of the Incheon Coast Guard, said, "Based on the Ministry of National Defense's announcement and other information, we kept multiple possibilities open, including defection, and conducted on-site investigations, but we did not find evidence to recognize the intention to defect."
Yoon Hyungjin, Director of Policy Planning at the Ministry of National Defense, also appeared at the briefing and stated, "We could not prove the missing official's voluntary defection," and added, "It is clear that North Korean soldiers shot our citizen and burned the body."
He further said, "In the past, we announced that the killed official was presumed to have attempted defection, which caused confusion among the public," and "We regret that we could not disclose everything due to security reasons."
Earlier, the Coast Guard announced interim investigation results eight days after Mr. A went missing in September 2020, concluding that he had defected. The main evidence was military and intelligence authorities' intercepted North Korean communication signals and maritime drift prediction analysis results.
Subsequently, the Coast Guard revealed that the missing person had gambled before death and had debts, disclosing details such as the gambling period, frequency, and debt amount, and judged that he defected as a means of escaping reality in a state of mental panic.
However, the Coast Guard has invited criticism by reversing the investigation results within about a month after the inauguration of the Yoon Seok-yeol administration, stating that there is no evidence to definitively conclude defection, after having announced defection for the same reasons during the Moon Jae-in administration.
Some suspect that the Coast Guard prematurely emphasized Mr. A's possibility of defection to please the Moon Jae-in administration.
September 2020, when the incident occurred, was a period when President Moon Jae-in was focusing on advancing inter-Korean relations and promoting a declaration to end the war, suggesting that the investigation announcement was made to support this.
Mr. A's older brother, Lee Raejin, said, "I think it is unacceptable for one institution to say completely different things just because the administration changed," and added, "They even released data claiming my brother swam at an absurd speed of 4.5 knots (8.3 km/h). I want to ask on what grounds they made such unreasonable claims in the past."
The Coast Guard's reversal of the investigation results triggered a flood of protest calls from citizens, paralyzing work in some departments.
Citizens called the Korea Coast Guard and Incheon Coast Guard Station, complaining, "Do you change investigation results like flipping your hand just because the president changed?", "These pathetic officials change their stance depending on the administration," and "If it wasn't defection, was it an accident? What is the conclusion?"
Meanwhile, the Coast Guard has suspended the investigation into the North Korean soldier suspected of shooting Mr. A (murder charge) and closed the case.
The Coast Guard explained that due to the geographical limitation of the incident occurring in North Korean waters and the inability to identify the suspect North Korean soldier, investigation was practically impossible, leading to the decision to suspend the investigation (suspect suspension).
Chief Park said, "International criminal judicial cooperation took about a year and a half, which required considerable time for the investigation," and "I offer my condolences to the bereaved families who have endured emotional pain for a long time."
With the closure of the investigation, the Coast Guard plans to withdraw the appeal in the lawsuit filed by Mr. A's family to cancel the refusal of information disclosure and disclose related information according to the court's decision.
Mr. A went missing on September 21, 2020, from a fisheries guidance vessel floating 2.2 km south of Soyeonpyeongdo, Ongjin-gun, Incheon, drifted into North Korean waters, and was shot dead by North Korean soldiers the following day.
The bereaved family, opposing the Coast Guard's announcement of voluntary defection, filed an information disclosure lawsuit against the Blue House National Security Office, the Coast Guard, and the Ministry of National Defense, winning partial victory in the first trial.
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