Prosecutors dropped their Supreme Court appeal after former Office of National Security Deputy Minister Seo Hoon, accused of trying to cover up facts at the time of the 2020 killing of a public official in the Yellow Sea, was acquitted on appeal following an initial acquittal. As a result, Seo's acquittal is final. They also dropped the appeal for former Korea Coast Guard Administrator Kim Hong-hee, who likewise was acquitted on appeal after an initial acquittal.
The Seoul High Court said on the 23rd that it would not file a Supreme Court appeal against former Deputy Minister Seo and former Administrator Kim. The Seoul High Prosecutors' Office said, "We closely reviewed the prospects for an appeal being accepted by the Supreme Court and, after consultations with the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, decided not to file an appeal."
Previously, Lee Dae-jun, a late fisheries guidance official under the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, went missing near Yeonpyeong Island in the Yellow Sea in September 2020 during the Moon Jae-in administration and was shot dead by North Korean soldiers. His body was incinerated at sea.
In late 2022, after the launch of the Yoon Suk-yeol administration, 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 including abuse of power and obstruction of another's rights.
For former Deputy Minister Seo, prosecutors applied charges that, after intelligence confirmed Lee had been shot by North Korean soldiers, Seo ordered security measures to officials of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) and the Korea Coast Guard Commissioner, causing them to perform duties not required, and that he had the Coast Guard distribute a false press release as if Lee were still missing and being searched for, while concealing his death by shooting. For former Administrator Kim, prosecutors charged that, following these instructions, he distributed a false press release raising the possibility that Lee had defected to the North.
In the first trial, the court acquitted all defendants, saying, "There is insufficient evidence to find illegality in procedure and insufficient evidence to find that falsehoods were involved substantively."
Prosecutors dropped their appeal for former Director Park, former Minister Suh Wook, and former Deputy Minister Noh, making their acquittals final. For former Deputy Minister Seo and former Administrator Kim, they appealed only the charge of announcing investigative findings that could be mistaken as concluding Lee voluntarily defected to the North when it was unclear whether he had done so (including falsification of official documents).
The appellate court acquitted former Deputy Minister Seo and former Administrator Kim. The appellate panel said, "In this case, where there is no direct evidence, although the announcement of the investigative findings at the time used hasty or categorical expressions, it is difficult to conclude that they wrote and distributed false content that did not conform to the truth."