Sealed Records of West Sea Killed Official... Bereaved Family to Visit Democratic Party on 27th

Lee Rae-jin, a bereaved family member of the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries official shooting incident, is having a meeting with Kwon Seong-dong, floor leader of the People Power Party, and the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries Official Shooting Incident Fact-Finding TF at the National Assembly on the 24th. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] The bereaved family of the late Lee Dae-jun, a Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries official who was killed by North Korean soldiers in the West Sea in 2020, is launching an all-out effort to verify the presidential records related to Lee’s death.

The family plans to meet with Woo Sang-ho, Emergency Committee Chairman of the Democratic Party of Korea, and Park Hong-geun, floor leader, on the morning of the 27th to request the disclosure of the presidential records. The family will ask the Democratic Party to propose to the National Assembly to obtain the required two-thirds majority approval of the total members of the National Assembly for verifying the presidential records, and they have also announced that they will formally request the information they want from Chairman Woo. Earlier, on the 21st, Chairman Woo said, “If a formal request (for disclosure) is made, we will not avoid disclosure.”

The presidential records related to the deceased Lee are effectively sealed. Although Lee’s family requested disclosure of the records from the Presidential Archives, they received a response on the 23rd stating, “We cannot comply with the request.” The reason given was that the requested records are presidential-designated records with a separate protection period set directly by the Blue House. To view presidential-designated records, either a two-thirds majority approval of the total members of the National Assembly or a warrant issued by the competent High Court is required.

On the 22nd, the family filed a complaint with the prosecution against former Blue House National Security Office Director Suh Hoon, former Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs Kim Jong-ho, and former Secretary for Civil Affairs Lee Kwang-chul, and on the 24th, they were invited by the People Power Party’s “Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries Official Shooting Incident Truth Investigation Task Force” to hold a meeting at the National Assembly. As the prosecution has begun investigating the related case, this has set the first step toward obtaining a warrant from the High Court. After the investigation, the prosecution can request the court to issue a warrant for record disclosure. The visit to the National Assembly appears to be an effort to create an atmosphere for meeting the approval requirements of the lawmakers.

Kim Ki-yoon, the family’s legal representative, said, “The focus is first on what the government of the Republic of Korea and former President Moon Jae-in did during the six hours from when he was informed of the incident until Lee’s death, and we will continue to raise our voices regarding the fabrication of the defection to the North.”