Seo Hoon, former Deputy Minister of the Office of National Security at the Blue House, who was brought to trial on charges of attempting to conceal the fact that a civil servant was shot and killed in the West Sea, was acquitted on appeal after being acquitted in the first trial. Kim Hong-hee, former Korea Coast Guard Commissioner, who was charged with distributing a false press release, was likewise found not guilty.
The Criminal Division 3 of the Seoul High Court (presiding judge Lee Seung-han, Director General judge) on the 16th held the appellate sentencing hearing for former Deputy Minister Seo and former Administrator Kim, who faced charges including drafting and using false official documents, and issued this ruling.
◇ Former National Intelligence Service (NIS) Director Park Ji-won and former Minister of the Ministry of National Defense Suh Wook have their acquittals finalized after prosecutors waived appeal
The appeals court said, "In this case where there is no direct evidence, although hasty or categorical expressions were used in the announcement of the investigation results at the time, it is hard to conclude that false content inconsistent with the truth was drafted and distributed," and did not recognize the charges, including drafting false official documents, against former Deputy Minister Seo and former Administrator Kim.
Previously, the late Lee Dae-jun, a fisheries guidance civil servant under the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, went missing near Yeonpyeong Island in the West Sea in Sept. 2020 under the Moon Jae-in administration and was shot dead by North Korean soldiers. His body was incinerated at sea.
After the Yoon Suk-yeol administration took office, the Board of Audit and Inspection began an audit related to the case. In Dec. 2023, the Board concluded that the government did not try to resolve the situation before Lee died and left it unattended, and after North Korea killed Lee and incinerated his body, the government covered up the case and pushed it as "voluntary defection to the North."
At the end of 2022, prosecutors indicted former Deputy Minister Seo; former National Intelligence Service Director Park Ji-won; former Minister of the Ministry of National Defense Suh Wook; and former National Intelligence Service Chief of Staff Noh Eun-chae on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of another's rights.
Former Deputy Minister Seo was charged with ordering security maintenance measures to officials at the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) and the Korea Coast Guard Commissioner after intelligence was confirmed that Lee was shot by North Korean soldiers, thereby making them perform duties not required, and with having the Coast Guard distribute a false press release suggesting Lee was missing and being searched for while concealing the fact of his death by shooting.
Former Administrator Kim was charged with distributing a false press release about the possibility that Lee defected to the North in accordance with such instructions.
The first trial acquitted all defendants. The first-trial court said, "There is insufficient evidence to find that there were procedural violations, and insufficient evidence to find that falsehoods were involved in substance."
Prosecutors waived appeals for former Director Park, former Minister Suh Wook, and former Deputy Minister Noh, finalizing their acquittals. For former Deputy Minister Seo and former Administrator Kim, prosecutors appealed only the charges (including drafting false official documents) related to releasing investigation results that could be mistaken as concluding Lee voluntarily defected to the North when it was unclear whether he had defected. At the closing hearing last month, prosecutors sought a 1-year, 6-month prison term for former Deputy Minister Seo and 2 years for former Administrator Kim.
◇ Seo Hoon: "A painful three years of the Yoon administration"; bereaved family: "We will file with the International Criminal Court and the International Maritime Organization"
After the appellate ruling, former Deputy Minister Seo told reporters, "The three years of the Yoon Suk-yeol administration were historically and nationally a very painful period for us," adding, "Dragging security policy into the courtroom and having the Board of Audit and Inspection and prosecutors investigate, probe, pressure, and threaten many people working in security agencies will come back as a national loss."
He added, "I once again pray for the repose of the truly wronged deceased, and I also extend my sincere condolences to the family."
Lee Rae-jin, Lee's older brother, told reporters after the appellate ruling, "Korea is a country that is in an armistice with North Korea, yet for six hours, while a citizen was being shot to death by the enemy and the body was burned, the state just waited for my younger brother to die," adding, "After he died, they said he defected to the North."
He continued, "If this is the judiciary's judgment, I question the judiciary's reason for being," adding, "Going forward, we will file with the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to seek a ruling."
Lee Rae-jin said he will also file with the ICC against the prosecutors and the judges of the first and second trials. He also plans to file a complaint with domestic courts under the recently established crime of distortion of law in the Criminal Act. In addition, regarding President Lee Jae-myung, he said, "A trial is underway, so how can the president interfere with the judiciary? I will file a complaint for violating the Constitution."
After the defendants in the West Sea civil servant shooting case were acquitted in the first trial, President Lee said, "We should hold those involved in the indictment accountable."