[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] Regarding the case of Lee Dae-jun, a Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries official who was killed by North Korean soldiers in the West Sea, the prosecution, which is weighing whether to conduct a direct investigation, is reportedly considering forming a special investigation team. With recent personnel changes finalized, there is also analysis that the investigation will be intensified in earnest.
Amid concerns and criticisms that the prosecution's investigation could trigger political conflict, especially as the Moon Jae-in administration's Blue House is pointed to as the 'upper echelon' in this case, voices emphasizing the necessity of forming a special investigation team to uncover the truth of the incident are gaining strength.
According to the legal community on the 3rd, the Public Investigation Division 1 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office has completed the investigation of the bereaved family's complaint and is analyzing the initial investigation materials from the Korea Coast Guard. When Deputy Chief Prosecutor Lee Hee-dong officially assumes his post on the 4th, it is expected that the team will be reorganized and then proceed with a full-scale investigation.
The investigation is expected to focus on what grounds the Coast Guard and the Ministry of National Defense had in September 2020 to conclude that the incident was a 'voluntary defection to the North,' and what directives the Moon Jae-in administration's Blue House issued.
If the special investigation team is activated, the prosecution is highly likely to immediately conduct comprehensive raids on the Presidential Archives and the Coast Guard Headquarters to swiftly secure materials.
At the time, the Korea Coast Guard announced interim investigation results eight days after Lee went missing, stating that based on intelligence intercepted by military and intelligence authorities and his debts, it was judged that Lee had defected to the North voluntarily. However, the ruling party and the bereaved family argue that the Ministry of National Defense's intercepted data, as well as Lee's slippers, life jacket, floating objects, gambling debts, and the direction of currents at the time of disappearance, which were presented as grounds for defection, are difficult to consider as direct evidence proving defection. The Coast Guard recently issued an apology and made an announcement overturning the investigation results.
The bereaved family claims that the Coast Guard, under instructions from the Blue House's National Security Office to 'inform that defection was more likely than an extreme choice' despite the lack of clear evidence, reached a definitive conclusion of 'voluntary defection.'
Recently, there has also been controversy over claims that the Democratic Party of Korea attempted to persuade the bereaved family. Earlier, Lee Rae-jin, the deceased official's brother, alleged that Democratic Party lawmakers Hwang Hee and Kim Cheol-min tried to persuade him by saying, 'If you acknowledge defection, we will compensate you.' Both lawmakers have denied these allegations as groundless.
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