Coast Guard: "Shot Public Official Had Debt of About 300 Million Won... Evidence of Intent to Defect to North Korea Confirmed"

Debt Over 260 Million Won from Internet Gambling
Actual Drifting Location Significantly Different from Predicted Position

Fishing supervision vessel on which the public official shot and killed in North Korea was aboard / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Ju-hyung] The Korea Coast Guard announced on the 29th that Lee Mo (47), a Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries official who went missing on Yeonpyeong Island and was killed after being shot by North Korean soldiers, had accumulated debts of around 300 million won due to online gambling.

Yoon Seong-hyun, Director of the Investigation Information Bureau of the Korea Coast Guard, explained at a briefing held at the Coast Guard headquarters in Yeonsu-gu, Incheon, on the same day, "According to our internal investigation, the total debt of the deceased Mr. Lee was estimated to be about 330 million won," adding, "Of this, approximately 268 million won was debt incurred from online gambling, which constitutes a significant portion of the total debt."

However, he stated, "Although Mr. Lee's financial situation was not good and his family circumstances appeared to be difficult, it is hard to conclude that he defected to the North solely based on the fact that he had debts," and added, "We were able to confirm the defection based on data obtained with the cooperation of the Ministry of National Defense."

On the same day, the Coast Guard announced interim investigation results concluding that Mr. Lee defected to North Korea, based on a comprehensive review of the fishing guidance vessel he was on, analysis of onboard closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage, interviews with people around the missing person, and fact-checking through visits to the Ministry of National Defense.

During the interim briefing, the Coast Guard explained, "When the missing person was found in North Korean waters, he was in an exhausted state, wearing a life jacket and clinging to floating debris; North Korea had detailed information about his personal details such as name, age, and hometown, which only the missing person would know; and there were indications that he expressed an intention to defect to the North."

Yoon Seong-hyun, Director of the Investigation Information Bureau of the Korea Coast Guard, is explaining the interim results of the investigation into the 'Soyeonpyeongdo Missing Official North Korean Shooting Incident' on the morning of the 29th at the Korea Coast Guard in Yeonsu-gu, Incheon. / Photo by Yonhap News

They also mentioned that employees who worked with Mr. Lee in the wheelhouse testified that Mr. A did not wear a life jacket while on duty.

The Coast Guard emphasized, "Considering that the missing person was wearing a life jacket, the possibility of a simple accidental fall or an attempted extreme act is considered very low."

Additionally, the Coast Guard disclosed the drift prediction analysis results for the missing person provided by four domestic institutions, including the Korea Hydrographic and Oceanographic Agency.

According to the predictions made by these institutions, if it had been a simple drift, Mr. Lee would have drifted counterclockwise around Soyeonpyeong Island and ended up drifting along the southwest coast; however, the actual location where Mr. Lee was found was significantly distant from the predicted drift results.

Regarding this, the Coast Guard explained, "It can be confirmed that drifting to the actual discovery location without any artificial effort has its limitations."

Meanwhile, the Coast Guard plans to continue the investigation by gathering additional cooperation from the Ministry of National Defense if necessary, along with ongoing CCTV analysis, further investigation of internet portal records, and additional interviews with people around the missing person, based on the facts confirmed so far.