[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] The prosecution investigating the case of the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries official, the late Lee Dae-jun, who was killed by North Korean soldiers in the West Sea, is accelerating the investigation by summoning and questioning witnesses one after another.
According to the legal community on the 13th, the Public Investigation Division 1 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Lee Hee-dong) summoned Yoon Hyung-jin, Director of Policy Planning at the Ministry of National Defense's Defense Policy Office, as a witness on the 11th. The prosecution reportedly questioned Director Yoon about the background behind the Ministry of National Defense reversing its previous stance that the deceased official Lee Dae-jun voluntarily defected to North Korea one year after the incident, as well as the Ministry's response at the time of the incident.
The Ministry of National Defense stated in a briefing on September 24, 2020, three days after Lee's disappearance, that he was believed to have voluntarily attempted to defect to North Korea. However, on the 16th of last month, one year and nine months later, the Ministry reversed its previous announcement, saying, "After reanalyzing the relevant information, it was not possible to prove the missing official's voluntary defection."
The Public Investigation Division 1 is also known to have recently summoned officials from the National Intelligence Service (NIS) as complainants in connection with the case where the NIS filed a complaint against former Director Park Ji-won for violating the National Intelligence Service Act and other charges.
The NIS reportedly confirmed in its internal investigation that based on intelligence capable of judging Lee's intention to defect, there was evidence that former Director Park Ji-won ordered the deletion of materials produced by NIS staff. After investigating officials from the NIS and the Ministry of National Defense, the prosecution may conduct raids on the NIS and the Ministry of National Defense to secure materials necessary to verify the facts.
Recently, the Public Investigation Division 1 increased its investigative personnel to nine, including the chief prosecutor, by receiving two prosecutors dispatched from other agencies.
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