"Does Having Many Debts Justify Defecting to North Korea?"
"Two Golden Time Opportunities Before Brother's Shooting... Government Did Not Make Efforts"
Mr. Lee Rae-jin, the brother of Mr. A, a public official under the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries who was shot and killed by North Korean soldiers while drifting at sea near Yeonpyeong Island in the West Sea, is responding to reporters' questions while on his way to attend a press conference for foreign correspondents at the Korea Press Center in Jung-gu, Seoul, on the afternoon of the 29th. / Photo by Yonhap News
[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] Lee Raejin (55), the elder brother of Lee Mo (47), a fisheries guidance officer affiliated with the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries who went missing near Yeonpyeongdo, Incheon, and was shot and killed by North Korean forces, claimed that "the Korea Coast Guard is unilaterally concluding that my brother defected to the North."
On the 29th, Lee held a press conference for foreign reporters at the Korea Press Center in Jung-gu, Seoul, stating, "I want to have a serious public discussion in front of the people, such as dialogues with maritime experts regarding my brother's death," and added, "The Coast Guard is unilaterally asserting defection to the North without conducting even the minimum on-site investigation or drift simulation."
Regarding the Coast Guard's investigation result that his brother had a debt of 260 million won due to online gambling, he said, "I had no idea," and criticized, "They keep talking about my brother's debts and family issues, but 50 to 60% of ordinary people in our country would have to defect to the North. I also have a considerable amount of debt. If having debt is a reason to defect, does that make sense?"
He also claimed, "There were two 'golden times'?the 30 hours my brother was adrift and the six hours before he was shot after being found in North Korea?but the government did not make efforts to save him," and added, "On the 22nd, when my brother was still alive, the Navy counted the number of life jackets remaining on the accident vessel. At that time, the military was already conducting an operation to frame him as a defector rather than trying to save him."
He urged the authorities to apologize for fabricating the defection narrative to conceal the facts.
Lee demanded that South Korea, the United States, and North Korea jointly work on fact-finding and recovering the body. He said, "Please disclose the information obtained through South Korea-U.S. cooperation," and "I earnestly appeal for the North to return my brother's body."
He continued, "Although North Korea brutally killed my brother, they also expressed apologies. I felt both anger and forgiveness," and added, "My brother's death is truly painful and difficult, but I sincerely hope that peace between South and North Korea will be achieved and the world order established after this incident."
Yoon Seong-hyun, Director of the Investigation Information Bureau of the Korea Coast Guard, is announcing the interim results of the investigation into the 'Soyeonpyeongdo Missing Public Official North Korea Shooting Incident' on the morning of the 29th at the Korea Coast Guard in Yeonsu-gu, Incheon. / Photo by Yonhap News
Meanwhile, the Coast Guard announced the interim investigation results on the same day, concluding that Lee defected to the North based on a comprehensive review of the on-site investigation of the fisheries guidance vessel the missing person was on, analysis of onboard CCTV footage, interviews with people around the missing person, and fact-checking through visits to the Ministry of National Defense.
At a briefing held at the Coast Guard Headquarters in Yeonsu-gu, Incheon, the Coast Guard explained, "When the missing person was found in North Korean waters, he was exhausted, relying on floating objects and wearing a life jacket; 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."
At the briefing, Yoon Seonghyun, Director of the Coast Guard's Investigation Information Bureau, also revealed that Lee had debts amounting to around 300 million won due to online gambling and other reasons.
Director Yoon explained, "Our investigation found that the total debt of the deceased Lee was about 330 million won, of which approximately 268 million won was due to online gambling, accounting for a significant portion of the total debt."
However, he added, "Although Lee's financial situation was poor and his family was unfortunate, it is difficult to conclude defection solely based on the fact that he had debts," and stated, "We were able to confirm the defection based on materials obtained with the cooperation of the Ministry of National Defense."
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