Presidential Office: "Coast Guard Leadership's Resignation to Be Uniformly Rejected... Audit by Board of Audit and Inspection Underway"

"Respecting Pure Intentions but Investigation Underway"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] On the 24th, the Presidential Office decided to reject the collective resignation of the Maritime Police Agency's senior officers, including those with the rank of Police Commissioner, related to the investigation of the 'West Sea Civil Servant Shooting' incident.

The Presidential Office's spokesperson office announced this in a press release titled "Regarding the Collective Resignation of the Maritime Police Agency's Command" in the afternoon of the same day.

The spokesperson office stated, "We understand that the Maritime Police leadership expressed their resignation, feeling responsible for causing misunderstandings to the bereaved families and the public regarding the investigation of the West Sea shooting civil servant case," adding, "While we respect their sincere intentions, since the Board of Audit and Inspection's audit and other fact-finding efforts are currently underway, the collective resignation will be rejected."

On the same morning, nine senior Maritime Police officers, including Commissioner Jeong Bong-hoon, collectively submitted their resignations, taking responsibility for the investigation of the 'West Sea Civil Servant Shooting' incident.

During the Moon Jae-in administration, in a mid-term investigation announcement in September 2020, the Maritime Police announced that the shot civil servant, Lee Dae-jun (aged 47 at the time of death), was judged to have defected to North Korea.

The main evidence included intelligence intercepting North Korean communication signals by military authorities and maritime drift prediction results analyzed by specialized agencies. The Maritime Police also disclosed that Lee frequently gambled and had debts before his death, citing these as grounds for the defection judgment.

However, about a month after the inauguration of the Yoon Suk-yeol administration, on the 16th, a press briefing was held announcing investigation results completely opposite to the past, stating that there was no evidence to conclusively determine defection, which drew public criticism.