Democratic Party: "Reversal of Defection Judgment Due to National Security Office's Directive"

Kim Byung-joo, head of the West Sea Public Officials Death Incident Task Force of the Democratic Party of Korea, is attending the first TF meeting held at the National Assembly on the 28th and delivering opening remarks. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] The Coast Guard and the Ministry of National Defense have once again raised suspicions that the reversal of the judgment regarding the defection of the late Seohae fisheries guidance officer Lee Dae-jun was directed by the National Security Office.

On the 1st, Kim Byung-joo, head of the Democratic Party's 'Seohae Public Official Killing Incident Task Force (TF),' stated in his opening remarks before a meeting with Joint Chiefs of Staff officials at Yongsan Joint Chiefs of Staff on the same day that the process of reversing the Coast Guard and military's judgment was "a suspicious circumstance where the investigation results were changed according to a 'top-down' directive coordinated by the National Security Office without a thorough review of the investigation."

Kim pointed out, "The Ministry of National Defense and the Coast Guard announced the reversal of their stance without presenting new evidence or circumstances, merely reversing the interpretation of the same facts," and added, "Before the final investigation results were announced, the Coast Guard neither reviewed nor analyzed the Joint Chiefs of Staff's intelligence judgment again, nor did they even request to do so."

He said, "The Coast Guard announced an absurd conclusion that they had to stop the investigation and reverse the defection judgment because they could not access SI (Special Handling Information), that is, special intelligence, nor collect evidence," and criticized, "During the investigation, they came to review it at the Joint Chiefs of Staff, but now in the final results, there is no original SI, basis, or anything that can prove it, so they said they cannot verify it, which is ridiculous."

During his visit to the Joint Chiefs of Staff that day, Kim claimed he intended to review the SI information, closely examine the basis for the Joint Chiefs of Staff's defection judgment, and the Coast Guard's investigation procedures to reveal whether the Yoon Seok-yeol administration's National Security Office intervened.

TF member Lee Yoon-geon-young also argued, "If the government reverses the military's intelligence judgment made in an urgent security situation just because the government has changed, and reverses it without objective facts, it causes great confusion for the military, which operates based on intelligence judgments," adding, "This current situation is a case of national discipline disruption."

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