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| The wife of Lee Dae-joon, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries official who was killed by the North Korean military in September 2020 after he went missing, weeps during a news conference held at the Seoul Bar Association building in southern Seoul, Friday. Yonhap |
State auditor embarks on probe of defense ministry, Coast Guard
By Kang Hyun-kyung
The family members of Lee Dae-joon, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries official who was shot dead by the North Korean military in the West Sea on Sep. 22, 2020, a day after he went missing, plan to sue former National Security Office (NSO) Director Suh Hoon for obstruction of justice.
"Then the Ministry of National Defense and Coast Guard announced that my brother was shot dead while attempting to defect to North Korea," Lee's brother Rae-jin said during a news conference held in southern Seoul on Friday. "We're wondering if then-National Security Office Director Suh flexed his muscle behind the government's conclusion about my brother's death. We will sue him for obstruction of justice to see if what we believe is true."
His remarks came as Kim Ki-yoon, an attorney who represents the Lee family, claimed that Cheong Wa Dae's NSO was confirmed to have exerted its influence to have the defense ministry and Coast Guard conclude that the fisheries official faced the tragic fate while attempting to defect to North Korea.
"The NSO was confirmed to have been involved in their briefings," the lawyer said.
Kim said several Coast Guard members offered testimony denying that Lee had attempted to defect to the North, but their opinions were not heard in its conclusion of the incident.
"One of them was quoted as saying that Lee should have been wearing waterproof workwear before he entered the water if he had intended to defect to the North, but he wasn't. The Coast Guard ignored his comments and concluded that Lee was shot dead while trying to defect," the lawyer said.
Kim also said that several of the late fisheries official's coworkers were not convinced by the government's briefing about Lee's motives.
"They were in doubt about Lee's defection attempt. One said that the news that he was trying to defect to the North didn't make sense. Another was quoted as saying that he didn't believe Lee attempted to defect to the North. Another coworker said Lee was the last person who would speak about North Korea," the lawyer said. "But all these testimonies were ignored and the defense ministry and the Coast Guard echoed the conclusion that he had attempted to defect to the North."
The 47-year-old fisheries official went missing in the early morning hours of Sept. 21, 2020 near Yeonpyeong Island in the West Sea. He was found dead the next day. The North Korean military had shot him and incinerated his body.
His death is being reinvestigated after President Yoon Suk-yeol took office. On Thursday, the defense ministry and Coast Guard said they found no evidence that can prove that Lee attempted to defect to the North, reversing their initial stance announced two years ago.
The Board of Audit and Inspection launched the investigation into the defense ministry and Coast Guard.
In a statement released on Friday, the state auditor said it would scrutinize the entire process of the incident from the time the case was reported to the process the authorities followed to see if their measures in each stage were appropriate.
It will look closely into how the defense ministry and Coast Guard reached the conclusion that he attempted to defect to the North.
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