Seoul: An appellate court on Tuesday upheld acquittals of a former senior presidential official and a former Coast Guard chief over an alleged cover-up of the 2020 murder of a South Korean fisheries official by North Korea.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the Seoul High Court found former National Security Adviser Suh Hoon and former Coast Guard Commissioner General Kim Hong-hee not guilty on charges of drafting false public documents in connection with the alleged cover-up. The 2020 incident involved the fatal shooting of Lee Dae-jun by North Korean troops near the maritime border in the Yellow Sea. His body was subsequently burned by North Korean soldiers after he went missing while on board a fishery inspection ship.
At the time of the incident, the Moon Jae-in administration claimed that Lee had sought to defect to North Korea, a statement prosecutors have argued was intended to mitigate potential damage to inter-Korean relations. The appellate court, however, ruled that while the language used by the administration was "rash" or "definitive," it did not constitute the drafting or distribution of false information.
In December, the Seoul Central District Court had previously acquitted Suh and Kim, alongside three other former senior security officials, on similar charges. Prosecutors had appealed this decision, accusing Suh of instructing the Coast Guard to issue a press release containing false information and concealing Lee's death, as well as framing the incident as a defection. Kim was accused of following these orders and disseminating false information regarding Lee's alleged defection.
Following the court's decision, Suh criticized the prosecution, labeling the case as "politically planned and fabricated." In contrast, the brother of the deceased fisheries official condemned the ruling, accusing the court and government of betraying the public.