The bereaved family of the "West Sea civil servant shooting" will file a petition with the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) against Jung Sung-ho, Minister of Justice.
According to legal sources on the 5th, Lee Rae-jin will hold a press conference in front of the National Human Rights Commission on the afternoon of the 6th and submit a petition against the Minister. Lee Rae-jin is the elder brother of the late Lee Dae-jun, who died in the "West Sea civil servant shooting."
The bereaved family objected to the Minister saying on the 2nd that the alleged cover-up of the West Sea civil servant shooting was "a textbook political retaliation investigation."
The bereaved family said, "We personally filed a complaint to demand accountability for the state taking no rescue action while the deceased was killed by North Korean soldiers and to demand the truth afterward," adding, "For the Minister to call this a 'political case' and a 'political retaliation investigation' distorts and stigmatizes the victim's death and the family's raising of issues as politically motivated, violating their human rights and honor."
Earlier, the first trial court acquitted all five defendants who were brought to trial over the alleged cover-up of the West Sea civil servant shooting. On the last day of the appeal period, on the 2nd, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office appealed the charges including defamation against former Office of National Security chief Suh Hoon and former Korea Coast Guard Commissioner General Kim Hong-hee. However, it decided not to appeal the charges including abuse of power to interfere with the exercise of rights against Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Park Ji-won and former Ministry of National Defense Minister Suh Wook, finalizing their acquittals.