Ministry of National Defense "Considering Disclosure of Blue House Official Document Related to Civil Servant Shooting"

Hataek Kyung, head of the People Power Party's Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries civil servant shooting incident investigation task force, is holding a meeting with the bereaved family member Lee Rae-jin at the National Assembly on the 24th. Photo by Dongju Yoon doso7@

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] The Ministry of National Defense is reviewing whether to disclose the official documents received from the Blue House at the time of the West Sea public official shooting incident.

On the 27th, a Ministry of National Defense official said, "Regarding the disclosure of the materials, we plan to review it after receiving opinions from the relevant departments," adding, "It seems there will be a position that opinions must be obtained."

Ha Tae-kyung, head of the People Power Party's 'Task Force (TF) for the Investigation of the West Sea Public Official Shooting Incident' under the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, claimed on the 26th, "The Ministry of the Interior and Safety has issued an authoritative interpretation stating that official documents received by departments or agencies from the Presidential Office cannot be considered presidential records."

In the authoritative interpretation response disclosed by Representative Ha, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety stated, "Documents sent by the Presidential Office and received by departments or agencies are managed by the respective institutions and cannot be considered presidential records; therefore, they are excluded from the designation target."

This implies that the related official documents received by the Ministry of National Defense from the Blue House at the time of the West Sea public official shooting incident in September 2020 are not presidential records and thus can be disclosed. Accordingly, the Ministry of National Defense is reported to be reviewing the disclosure after consulting opinions from external related departments such as the Ministry of Government Legislation.