Democratic Party Urges Cooperation in Releasing Presidential Records on "West Sea Public Official Shooting Incident"

'Launch of the "West Sea Official Killing Incident Truth Investigation TF"
"Must uncover how it was disguised as defection to North Korea"
"Restore honor and resolve the grievances of the bereaved families"'

On the 21st, Kwon Seong-dong, the floor leader of the People Power Party, Ha Tae-kyung, and other attendees participated in a moment of silence before the start of the first meeting of the People Power Party's Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries Civil Servant Shooting Incident Investigation Task Force held at the National Assembly. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Hyun-ji] On the 21st, the People Power Party launched a task force (TF) to investigate the truth behind the ‘West Sea Public Official Killing Incident’ and demanded full disclosure of information regarding presidential records.

On the same day, the People Power Party held the first meeting of the ‘Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries Public Official Shooting Incident Investigation TF’ at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, expressing their determination to uncover the truth about the incident. Floor leader Kwon Seong-dong stated at the meeting, “The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries official was killed twice. Once by North Korean gunfire, and another time by character assassination by the Moon Jae-in administration,” adding, “From the beginning, the conclusion was predetermined as defection to the North. We must reveal how this death was disguised as defection.” This is a criticism that the Moon Jae-in administration concluded the case as defection and proceeded with the investigation accordingly in 2020.

Floor leader Kwon continued, “We must eradicate the politicization of death, where some deaths are commemorated and others are concealed depending on political interests. Through uncovering the truth, we will restore honor, resolve the grievances of one family, uphold the nation’s pride, and correct the flawed political grammar of Korean society,” promising party-level support such as information disclosure and legal assistance.

He also called for full disclosure of information to achieve this. After the current affairs inspection meeting, Floor leader Kwon told reporters regarding the Democratic Party’s proposal to disclose Special Intelligence (SI), “The important thing is not to disclose SI, but if the parts designated as presidential records are disclosed, it can be resolved easily,” and added, “I counter-propose to the Democratic Party to disclose the parts designated as presidential records rather than SI.”

Regarding the need for the Democratic Party’s cooperation in disclosing presidential records, he responded, “Since the Democratic Party is proposing to disclose SI, I don’t see any reason why they would not agree to the inspection of presidential records, which requires the consent of two-thirds of the National Assembly members.”