[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] On the afternoon of the 13th, the prosecution is conducting a search and seizure of the National Intelligence Service (NIS) in connection with the 'West Sea Public Official Killing Incident' and the 'Forced Repatriation of Defector Fishermen Incident.'
The Public Investigation Division 1 (Chief Prosecutor Lee Hee-dong) and Public Investigation Division 3 (Chief Prosecutor Lee Joon-beom) of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office sent prosecutors and investigators to the NIS office in Seocho-gu, Seoul, to carry out the search and seizure.
The Public Investigation Division 1 is investigating the case of the late Lee Dae-jin, a Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries official who was killed by North Korean soldiers in the West Sea in 2020, while the Public Investigation Division 3 is handling the case involving the forced repatriation of two fishermen who defected in 2019 after expressing their intention to defect. It is reported that the two divisions launched the search and seizure at the NIS to secure materials related to the cases.
Earlier, the NIS filed a complaint with the prosecution on the 6th against former NIS directors Park Ji-won and Suh Hoon regarding the two incidents. The Public Investigation Division 1, which was assigned the cases, recently summoned Yoon Hyung-jin, head of the Policy Planning Division of the Defense Policy Office at the Ministry of National Defense, as a witness for questioning. It is also known that NIS officials who filed the complaint against former director Park Ji-won were summoned and questioned around the same time.
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