'West Sea Official Killing' Truth Dispute... Growing Conflict, Distant Cooperation

Standoff Between Ruling and Opposition Parties Continues Over 'West Sea Official Killing' Case
Ruling Party: "Will Reveal Fabrication Evidence" vs Opposition: "Must Bear Security Harm"
22nd Day of Legislative Session Gap in Second Half... Prolonged Negotiations Expected

(Left) Kwon Seong-dong, Floor Leader of the People Power Party (Right) Woo Sang-ho, Emergency Response Committee Chairman of the Democratic Party of Korea.

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Yoonjin Kim] The ruling and opposition parties are engaged in sharp exchanges over the reversal of the investigation results of the killing of a government official in the West Sea. The People Power Party (PPP) has labeled the incident as a 'defection fabrication' by the Moon Jae-in administration and urged the disclosure of related materials, while the Democratic Party criticized the ruling party's pressure on the opposition, accusing the PPP of politically exploiting the case with a 'new colorism.'

On the 16th, the Ministry of National Defense and the Korea Coast Guard officially apologized for previously announcing that the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries official, who was killed by North Korean soldiers while drifting in the West Sea in September 2020, had 'voluntarily defected.' The Coast Guard reversed its previous stance, stating, "No evidence was found to confirm the intention of defection."

In response, the ruling party is holding the Moon administration accountable and demanding a public apology from the Democratic Party. On the 19th, Kwon Seong-dong, floor leader of the PPP, wrote on Facebook, "The Moon government and the Democratic Party should first apologize before the cries of the (killed official's) son," and criticized, "The Democratic Party's sense of justice and human rights only has exceptions for itself and North Korea." On the same day, Heo Eun-ah, chief spokesperson of the PPP, urged the disclosure of related records in a written statement, saying, "If the Democratic Party is confident that there was no concealment in the reporting and handling of the incident, they should actively cooperate in disclosing all the materials from that time."

The Democratic Party is pushing back, accusing the PPP of forcibly politicizing the issue. Woo Sang-ho, emergency committee chairman of the Democratic Party, said at a press briefing at the National Assembly on the 19th, "This series of moves seems intended to push the situation into a strong confrontation rather than cooperative governance, pressuring the opposition," and added, "If information is disclosed, South Korea's intelligence system monitoring North Korean troops will be fully exposed. Are they trying to neutralize all intelligence and North Korea surveillance functions to attack the Moon administration?"

However, as the truth dispute between the ruling and opposition parties intensifies, voices calling for partial disclosure of the materials from that time are gaining strength within political circles. On the 20th, Ha Tae-kyung, a PPP lawmaker, appeared on MBC Radio's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus' and claimed, "There are many materials other than Blue House records. Coast Guard investigation materials and Ministry of National Defense materials will be disclosed soon," asserting that he would reveal signs of investigation manipulation by the previous government.

The Democratic Party said it would cooperate with information disclosure but counterattacked that the government and ruling party would bear responsibility. On the 20th, Democratic Party lawmakers from the National Defense Committee of the first half of the National Assembly held a press conference, stating, "If ruling party lawmakers sincerely want to disclose the previously non-public meeting minutes despite security risks, we will cooperate with the inspection and disclosure of the minutes according to the National Assembly Act," and emphasized, "If doubts remain unresolved, under the government's judgment, SI (Special Intelligence) information can be disclosed with U.S. cooperation at that time. Security risks must be acknowledged."

As the political conflict enters a 'strong confrontation' phase, discussions on pending issues requiring bipartisan agreement, such as the organization of the National Assembly, are also being delayed. The second half of the National Assembly has been at a standstill for 22 days as negotiations on the organization of the Assembly have been going in circles.

On the 20th, Kwon Seong-dong, floor leader of the PPP, proposed a 'marathon meeting' for negotiations on the organization of the Assembly at a Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly, urging the opposition, "If the Democratic Party breaks the bipartisan agreement that the PPP will take the chairmanship of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee in the second half and unilaterally elects the Assembly leadership, public opinion will turn irreversibly against them." However, Woo Sang-ho, committee chairman, effectively rejected the PPP's proposal, saying, "The ruling party must first present a concession plan that the opposition can accept," indicating that negotiations on the organization of the Assembly are expected to remain difficult going forward.