The National Intelligence Service withdrew its complaints and issued an official apology to former Office of National Security Deputy Minister Seo Hoon and former National Intelligence Service (NIS) Director Park Gee-won, who were acquitted in trials over the killing of a civil servant in the West Sea and the repatriation of North Korean fishermen in the East Sea.
On the 29th, the National Intelligence Service (NIS) announced the results of its special audit and inspection, saying, "We sincerely apologize to former Deputy Minister Seo and former Director Park and other parties to the case, as well as to the public, for the hardship caused by unjust complaints," and added, "We also offer our deepest condolences to the deceased (the slain civil servant), who lost their life in a tragedy born of national division, and to the bereaved family."
The decision to withdraw the complaints was based on an internal conclusion that the inspection at the time amounted to an "abuse of inspection authority," conducted with the aim of criminally punishing specific individuals. The National Intelligence Service (NIS) said it found indications that content contrary to fact was assembled or legal theories were forcibly applied to extract criminal charges, and defined this as an unethical complaint.
The National Intelligence Service (NIS) said, "The inspection under the Yoon Suk-yeol administration appears to have been conducted for the purpose of criminally accusing specific individuals, raising a strong possibility of abuse of inspection authority," and added, "We confirmed instances where the contents of the complaint were assembled contrary to fact or legal theories were forcibly applied to reach the conclusion that there were criminal charges in the officials' performance of duties."
In July 2022, the National Intelligence Service (NIS), under instructions from former President Yoon Suk-yeol, filed complaints with prosecutors against the two former chiefs. However, as courts recently acquitted the defendants of charges related to the West Sea case and the East Sea case, the National Intelligence Service (NIS) said it decided to withdraw the complaints out of respect for the judiciary's decisions and to expedite the restoration of the accuseds' rights.
On the 26th, the Seoul Central District Court acquitted former Deputy Minister Seo and former Director Park of abuse of authority in connection with the killing of a civil servant in the West Sea. In February, a not-guilty verdict was issued on charges against former Deputy Minister Seo and others of drafting false official documents and violating the National Intelligence Service Act in connection with the repatriation of North Korean fishermen in the East Sea.
The West Sea civil servant killing refers to the Sept. 2020 incident in which the late Lee Dae-jun, a civil servant of the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, was killed by North Korean soldiers in the West Sea, while the East Sea repatriation of North Korean fishermen refers to the 2019 incident in which two defected fishermen, accused of killing 16 fellow crew members, were forcibly sent back to North Korea despite expressing their intention to defect.
The National Intelligence Service (NIS) said, "We promise to exercise greater caution in using public powers such as inspection and complaint filing going forward, and we will thoroughly reflect on our mistakes in misusing or abusing the authority entrusted by the public and ensure that such incidents do not recur."