Bereaved Family of West Sea Killed Official Requests Prosecutors to "Conduct Seizure and Search of Presidential Records"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] The family of Lee Dae-jun, a Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries official who was shot dead by North Korean soldiers in the West Sea in 2020, has requested the prosecution to conduct a search and seizure of presidential records containing information related to the incident.

On the afternoon of the 5th, Lee Dae-jun's elder brother, Lee Rae-jin, and the family's legal representative, lawyer Kim Ki-yoon, submitted a written opinion to the Public Investigation Division 1 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Lee Hee-dong), stating, "This is crucial evidence to understand what the government and former President Moon Jae-in did during the six hours from when Lee was found by the North Korean side until his death," and requested the issuance of a search warrant for the presidential records.

Additionally, the family requested the prosecution to investigate as a witness Lieutenant General Kang Geon-jak, then commander of the Army's 6th Corps, who served as the head of the National Crisis Management Center at the National Security Office at the time of the incident. They believe that General Kang, who acted as a liaison between the Blue House and the Ministry of National Defense, would have detailed knowledge of the information exchanged between the two agencies at that time.

Furthermore, the family announced plans to file complaints with the Democratic Party's Ethics Committee on the 8th against Woo Sang-ho, the party's Emergency Response Committee Chairman, Assemblyman Seol Hoon, who made remarks dismissing Lee's death as "nothing," and Assemblyman Shin Dong-geun, who posted on his Facebook during the incident that "shooting may occur if one attempts to defect to the North." The family also intends to file complaints against Woo and Seol with the National Human Rights Commission.

Lee Dae-jun was shot dead by North Korean soldiers in the northern waters of the West Sea in September 2020. At the time, the Korea Coast Guard announced, based on intercepted intelligence by military and intelligence authorities and his debts, that Lee was judged to have defected to the North. However, about two years after the incident, on the 16th, the final investigation results were overturned, stating that "no intention of defection was found."