Prosecution Partially Appeals 'West Sea Shooting' Case... Both Ruling and Opposition Parties Criticize as 'Forced' and 'Token' Actions

As the prosecution partially appealed the first trial verdict of not guilty in the shooting death of a public official in the West Sea, both the ruling and opposition parties criticized the prosecution, but from opposing perspectives.

Yonhap News

On January 3, Democratic Party spokesperson Park Kyungmee stated in a written briefing that the prosecution's partial appeal in the West Sea public official shooting case "effectively admits the total failure of the prosecution's orchestrated investigation," adding, "The prosecution has abandoned the core charges of abuse of authority and concealment in this appeal."

Spokesperson Park further argued, "This is an admission that the prosecution's scenario-alleging that the Moon Jaein administration's security officials systematically covered up the incident and fabricated a defection to North Korea-was a fabrication," and pointed out, "This appeal, which has dropped all major charges, is a desperate measure by the prosecution, which has lost the legitimacy of its investigation, to save face."

The previous day, the prosecution had filed an appeal only for certain charges, such as defamation, against former National Security Advisor Suh Hoon and former Coast Guard Commissioner General Kim Honghee, in relation to the West Sea public official shooting case. The prosecution dropped its appeal against former National Intelligence Service Director Park Jieon and former Defense Minister Suh Wook, confirming their acquittal.

Spokesperson Park said, "The prosecution, which has recklessly applied judicial standards to the core areas of national diplomacy and security, should humbly accept the court's decision and take responsibility for resolving the situation. However, we deeply regret the prosecution's 'forced choice' to appeal. This partial appeal is nothing more than a meaningless delay that wastes taxpayers' money and judicial resources."

She added, "The defamation charges against former National Security Advisor Suh and former Coast Guard Commissioner General Kim were also based on reasonable judgments supported by intelligence and information collected at the time, and this will be proven again in the appellate trial."

In contrast, the People Power Party criticized the prosecution's partial appeal as "nothing more than a formal measure to avoid responsibility." Senior spokesperson Park Sunghoon stated in a commentary, "Led by President Lee Jaemyung and Prime Minister Kim Minseok, the government and the ruling party have publicly pressured the prosecution with remarks such as 'fabricated indictment' and 'of course the appeal should be dropped.' In a country with separation of powers, such blatant interference in investigations and trials is unacceptable. By succumbing to this pressure, the prosecution has once again denied its own reason for existence and effectively declared its dissolution."

Senior spokesperson Park continued, "During the Moon Jaein administration, even though a South Korean citizen was killed by North Korean soldiers and his body was burned, the government merely watched and condoned the incident, later framing the essence of the case as a defection to North Korea. After the incident, over 5,600 pieces of intelligence were deleted from the Ministry of National Defense and over 50 from the National Intelligence Service."

He added, "Park Jieon, who was then Director of the National Intelligence Service, Suh Wook, then Minister of National Defense, and Noh Eunchae, then Chief of Staff at the National Intelligence Service, were at the core of this cover-up, having ordered the deletion of thousands of intelligence reports from the National Intelligence Service and the Ministry of National Defense. Yet, all were acquitted."

Senior spokesperson Park criticized, "The true nature of the 'prosecution reform' and 'judicial reform' that the Democratic Party has so obsessively pursued has now become clear. This is not about reform, but about creating a world where Democratic Party criminals are not punished, the crimes of the president and the ruling power are covered up, and the unjust deaths of citizens are erased. Such a world is already becoming a reality."

He concluded, "The People Power Party will never give up on this matter. Those who unjustly pressured the prosecution, as well as the prosecution that gave in and abandoned justice, must all be held accountable."

Finally, he emphasized, "Regardless of whether they hold power or not, we will pursue and hold all those involved accountable under the law to the very end."