[앵커]
Prosecutors investigating the murder of a public official in the West Sea summoned internal military intelligence officers after a day of seizure and search by the National Intelligence Service to investigate how the related secrets were deleted.
Prosecutors are also examining suspicions that former NIS Director Suh Hoon ordered to stop the joint investigation at the time of the repatriation of North Korean defectors to North Korea in 2019.
Correspondent Na Hye-in.
[기자]
The day after the search and seizure by the National Intelligence Service, military intelligence officers including a colonel belonging to the National Defense Intelligence Headquarters were summoned to the prosecution.
Apart from the allegation that former National Intelligence Service Director Park Ji-won ordered the deletion of intelligence related to the murdered public official through his chief of staff at the time, the military also wanted to confirm how data such as wiretapping against North Korea were deleted at the same time.
Earlier, while acknowledging that the confidential information collected at the time was deleted from the military integrated information processing system, ‘Mims’, the military authorities explained that only the necessary measures were taken to prevent it from spreading to other units, but the original remains.
However, regardless of whether the original remains, it is not surprising that the Blue House Ministerial Meeting was held one after another immediately after the incident and related information was deleted.
Prosecutors are also looking into whether the government at the time made a voluntary decision to defect to North Korea and instructed the military to delete inconsistent information.
The North Korean defector fishermen repatriation case investigation team is analyzing the data obtained through the search and seizure of the NIS.
The NIS is arguing that there is an abuse of power, saying that at the time Director Suh Hoon conspired with former 3rd deputy chief Kim Jun-hwan to halt the joint investigation of North Korean defectors, which usually lasts for about a month, in just three days.
It was also found that the complaint included the content that they discussed with external agencies such as the Blue House National Security Office at the time and ignored the report of the Ministry of Unification containing their intention to defect or the internal opinion of the National Intelligence Service that further investigation is needed.
The government continues to interpret that there is no legal basis for the repatriation of North Korean defectors to North Korea.
The Moon Jae-in government emphasized that North Korean defectors are heinous criminals who murdered 16 of their colleagues, and set up the provision of the Immigration Control Act as a basis for repatriation to North Korea, which states that foreigners who commit crimes can be deported. retorted.
The Ministry of Unification also emphasized that although North Korean defectors who commit felony crimes may not be protected under the North Korean Defectors Act, there is no provision for deportation.
The current government is denying the Moon Jae-in administration’s grounds for repatriation to North Korea one after another.
This is Na Hye-in from YTN.
YTN Hyein Na ([email protected])
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