Park Ji-won and Seo Hoon Accused by NIS, Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office Investigates

Former National Security Office Director Suh Hoon (left) and Former National Intelligence Service Director Park Ji-won [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office is investigating a case in which the National Intelligence Service (NIS) filed charges against former NIS directors related to incidents that occurred during the Moon Jae-in administration, including the 'killing of a civil servant in the West Sea' and the 'repatriation of North Korean fishermen.'

According to the legal community on the 6th, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office transferred the case in which the NIS accused former directors Park Ji-won and Seo Hoon of violating the National Intelligence Service Act (abuse of authority) and other charges to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office. The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, which is scheduled to assign the case on the 7th, is expected to review the contents of the complaint and likely entrust it to the Public Investigation Division 1 (Chief Prosecutor Lee Heedong).

The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office is already investigating the authenticity of the case of Lee Dae-jun, a Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries official who was shot dead by North Korean soldiers, so there is speculation that a special investigation team may be formed soon. The Public Investigation Division 1 is investigating the circumstances under which the Moon Jae-in administration's Blue House judged and announced Lee as a 'defector to the North,' as well as the appropriateness of the government's response on the day of the incident.

Earlier, the NIS filed charges with the Supreme Prosecutors' Office against former director Park and others for unauthorized deletion of intelligence-related reports concerning the killing of the civil servant in the West Sea, based on its own investigation. Former director Seo and others were charged with forcibly ending a joint investigation early in connection with the forced repatriation of North Korean fishermen.

The forced repatriation of North Korean fishermen incident occurred in November 2019, when two North Korean sailors killed 16 colleagues, defected, and expressed their intention to seek asylum, but were expelled back to North Korea through Panmunjom.