Former National Security Office Director Suh Hoon is speaking at the 'Press Conference on the West Sea Civilian Shooting Incident and the Deportation of Heinous Criminals' held at the National Assembly on the 27th. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] The prosecution investigating the 'West Sea Public Official Shooting Incident' is summoning Seo Hoon, the former National Security Office chief and the top official in the Moon Jae-in administration's North Korea security line, for questioning on the 24th.
According to the legal community, the Public Investigation Division 1 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Lee Hee-dong) summoned former Director Seo in the morning as a suspect. Originally, Seo was scheduled to be questioned by the prosecution the previous day, but it was postponed by one day.
Former Director Seo is suspected of having prematurely concluded that the late Lee Dae-jun, a Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries official who was killed by North Korean soldiers, had 'voluntarily defected to the North' during a ministerial meeting held around 1 a.m. on September 23, 2020, the day after Lee's death, and of instructing related ministries to delete confidential intelligence that contradicted this conclusion.
The prosecution believes that, following the National Security Office's orders, former Minister of National Defense Seo Wook instructed the Military Integrated Management System (MIMS) to delete confidential information such as wiretapping data. In this regard, former National Intelligence Service Director Park Ji-won is also under investigation for allegedly ordering the deletion of intelligence reports at the NIS.
The prosecution is expected to focus its questioning of former Director Seo on the basis for judging voluntary defection immediately after Lee's death, whether he instructed related ministries to delete confidential information, and whether there was involvement from other 'higher-ups' during this process. With the prosecution summoning Seo, a key figure in the security line's decision-making at the time, there is growing speculation that former Director Park will soon be summoned for questioning and that a decision will be made on whether to request arrest warrants for them.
Former Director Seo is actively denying the allegations. He claims that he transparently disclosed all circumstances at the time and denies having unjustly labeled Lee as a defector or ordering the deletion of documents.
Key figures responsible for the Moon Jae-in administration's North Korea and security line, including former Director Seo, held a press conference on the 27th of last month, rebutting by saying, "Claiming that the Moon Jae-in administration engaged in 'defection framing' without presenting any evidence is nothing more than illogical and baseless reckless retaliation."
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