Park Ji-won Accused in 'West Sea Killing' Case, Hires Lawyer... Preparing for Investigation

Park Ji-won, Former Director of the National Intelligence Service / Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] Former National Intelligence Service Director Park Ji-won has appointed a lawyer in preparation for the investigation into the 'West Sea Civil Servant Killing' case.

According to the legal community on the 11th, former Director Park appointed Lawyer So Dong-gi of Law Firm Sudo (Judicial Research and Training Institute class 16) as his legal counsel. Lawyer So previously defended former Director Park in various investigations and lawsuits, including the 2003 'North Korea Remittance Case' and the 2012 'Bohae Savings Bank Case.'

Former Director Park was accused of unauthorized deletion of intelligence-related reports at the time of Lee's killing (abuse of authority under the National Intelligence Service Act, damage to official electronic records). The charges include unauthorized deletion of intelligence reports containing intercepted content of Lee saying to North Korean soldiers, "I am a civil servant of the Republic of Korea. Please rescue me."

The West Sea Civil Servant Killing case involves the late Lee Dae-jin, a Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries official, who was killed by North Korean soldiers in the West Sea in August 2020. At that time, the Ministry of National Defense stated three days after Lee's disappearance that he had voluntarily attempted to defect to North Korea. However, after one year and nine months, the Ministry reversed its previous statement, saying, "After reanalyzing the related information, we could not prove the missing civil servant's voluntary defection."

The case is currently under investigation by the Public Investigation Division 1 (Chief Prosecutor Lee Hee-dong). The prosecution has not provided the accused with the complaint so far, citing concerns that it might hinder the investigation, but plans to cooperate to guarantee the right to defense before the summons investigation.