Investigation into the Shooting of Seohae Public Official: All 7 Grounds Lack Credibility

People Power Party Fact-Finding TF Visits Korea Coast Guard
Raises Suspicions of External Pressure on Interim Investigation Results
"Applying Presumption of Defection to North Korea, Not Presumption of Innocence"

Ha Tae-kyung, head of the People Power Party's Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries Civil Servant Shooting Incident Fact-Finding Task Force, visited the Korea Coast Guard in Yeonsu-gu, Incheon on the 22nd and questioned Commissioner Jeong Bong-hoon. Ha visited the Korea Coast Guard to conduct an on-site inspection to uncover the truth behind the West Sea civil servant incident, in which a civil servant was shot by North Korean soldiers in 2020. Photo by the National Assembly Press Photographers' Association

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Hyun-ji] On the 22nd, the People Power Party intensely questioned allegations of external pressure, calling the investigation into the shooting incident involving a Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries official “overall sloppy and fabricated.”

Ha Tae-kyung, chairman of the People Power Party’s Task Force (TF) for uncovering the truth about the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries official shooting incident, told reporters at the Coast Guard headquarters in Yeonsu-gu, Incheon, “We concluded that all seven pieces of evidence presented during the Coast Guard’s interim investigation report were problematic. All seven lack credibility.” At the time, the Coast Guard cited seven factors?wiretap data, slippers, life jackets, floating objects, currents, gambling debts, and mental panic?to announce that the Ministry official, Mr. Lee, had voluntarily defected to North Korea.

Regarding the wiretap data, which was a decisive basis for the defection judgment, Ha pointed out, “The Coast Guard repeatedly requested the Ministry of National Defense to show the full content, but the military refused, so they could not see it. The wiretap data used as evidence in the interim investigation was only a partial set of data.” About the currents, he said, “Depending on the time Mr. Lee fell into the water, his swimming direction, and swimming speed, various scenarios could arise, but only one scenario was singled out and announced, which was said to be intentional.” He also judged that it was difficult to specifically identify the slippers and life jacket as belonging to Mr. Lee.

He then asserted suspicions of fabrication regarding the defection. “The presumption of innocence should have been applied, but instead, the presumption of defection was applied,” he said. “There is a strong suspicion that the conclusion was not reached through the Coast Guard’s voluntary investigation but involved some external intervention.” Shin Won-sik, the People Power Party’s ranking member of the National Defense Committee in the National Assembly, also harshly criticized the Coast Guard, saying, “The Coast Guard failed in its role and pushed the narrative of defection. There was much more evidence indicating that defection did not occur than signs that it did.”

Ha added, “I will visit the Ministry of National Defense tomorrow and continue the investigation, focusing on uncovering the reality of external intervention and pressure,” expressing his determination to uncover the truth.