[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 government official killing incident’ and the ‘forcible repatriation of North Korean 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 Public Investigation Division 3 is handling the case involving the forcible repatriation of two North Korean fishermen who defected in 2019 after expressing their intention to defect.
Earlier, the NIS filed a complaint with the prosecution on the 6th against former NIS directors Park Ji-won and Seo Hoon regarding the two incidents. The Public Investigation Division 1, which was assigned the case, recently summoned Yoon Hyung-jin, head of the Policy Planning Division of the Ministry of National Defense’s Defense Policy Office, as a witness for questioning. NIS officials who filed the complaint against former Director Park Ji-won were also reportedly summoned for questioning around the same time.
The prosecution appears to have launched the search and seizure at the NIS today to secure materials related to the incidents. It is known that the main targets of the seizure include information production and deletion records remaining on the NIS servers and messenger conversations exchanged among employees. Considering that the NIS conducted an unusual internal investigation and directly filed complaints against former directors, the prosecution’s search and seizure are expected to proceed smoothly, unlike in the past.
After analyzing the related materials received from the NIS today, the prosecution is expected to continue full-scale summons and investigations of current and former officials and executives involved in the incidents. Former Director Park denies the allegations, claiming he did not order the deletion of incident-related reports. Former Director Seo is currently staying in the United States.
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