During the first trial of the murder of a public official in the West Sea, former Blue House National Security Office chief Suh Hoon and former National Intelligence Service chief Park Ji-won denied allegations of cover-up. Seo Hoon’s lawyer argued that the late Lee Dae-joon’s death was already known to authorities and reported to the president, but it is possible they tried to cover it up. Seo’s lawyer denied allegations of ‘whole North Korea’ and deleting some of the North Korean wiretapping information. Former Director Park denied charges of having NIS employees delete intelligence reports without permission. The prosecution ordered the Joint Chiefs of Staff and former head of the Korea Coast Guard Kim Hong-hee to cover-up the incident. Lee Rae-jin, the older brother of the deceased Lee, demanded answers and the truth about what happened to his brother.
Suh Hoon – Park Ji-won’s full denial of concealment charges Seo Hoon’s side “It’s like erasing some of the copies” Park received a protest from the bereaved family while attending court
On the morning of the 24th, Lee Rae-jin (white jacket in front of former director Park), the older brother of the late Lee Dae-joon, a civil servant who was killed in Seohae, rushes to Park Ji-won, former director of the National Intelligence Service (left), and protests, saying, “Apologize.” Photo Collaboration Foundation
In the first trial of the murder of a public official in the West Sea, officials in the Moon Jae-in administration, including former Blue House National Security Office chief Suh Hoon (in prison) and former National Intelligence Service chief Park Ji-won, denied allegations of cover-up.
At the first trial held at the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Agreement 25-2 Part (Chief Judge Park Jeong-je) hearing that day, Seo’s attorney said, “The defendant did not and could not conceal the fact that the late Lee Dae-joon was shot dead.” “It was already known to hundreds of people from the NIS, the Ministry of National Defense, and the National Security Office, and it was reported to the president, but it is quite possible that they are determined to cover it up,” he argued.
Regarding the allegation of ‘whole North Korea’, Seo’s lawyer said, “The Security Office had to share the intelligence created by each agency, so we were only thinking about what would be the appropriate measure to find out the truth, and we had no intention of fabricating information by falsely fabricating it.” said. Regarding the allegation of deleting some of the North Korean wiretapping information (SI, special information), he said, “The deletion of the SI was part of the adjustment of the distribution target of the so-called confidential information, and (moreover) the original remains, so we will present it as evidence.” It’s like making 100 copies and then erasing 70 copies, but it’s hard to understand that they tried to cover up something.”
Former Director Park, who is accused of having NIS employees delete intelligence reports without permission, also denied the charges at the trial that day, saying, “There was no decision-making position or actual instructions.” Former Defense Minister Suh Wook, who was investigated for ordering the deletion of military secrets from the Integrated Military Information Processing System (MIMS) that conflicted with the government’s judgment that Mr. continued the argument.
However, the prosecution ordered the Joint Chiefs of Staff and former head of the Korea Coast Guard Kim Hong-hee to cover up the incident at a meeting of related ministers on September 23, 2020, the day after Mr. Lee was killed by North Korean soldiers. obstruction of exercise of rights). At the trial that day, the prosecution said, “This case is a neglect of duty by the state, which has to protect the lives of its people.” ”he emphasized.
Meanwhile, Lee Rae-jin, the older brother of the deceased Lee, held a press conference in front of the court ahead of the trial that day and said, “We need to know clearly and find out what he tried to gain by stigmatizing his younger brother as a North Korean defector.” We have to move forward,” he said. Mr. Lee demanded that former director Park, “I am a bereaved family, please say something” on the way to appear in court, and in the process, there was a commotion with YouTubers and others.
Reporter Jahyun Kim [email protected]
The first trial of the murder of Lee Dae-joon, a civil servant who was killed in the West Sea, has seen former officials from the Moon Jae-in administration denying allegations of cover-up. Former Blue House National Security Office chief Suh Hoon and former National Intelligence Service chief Park Ji-won both denied charges related to the cover-up during the trial. However, the prosecution ordered former head of the Korea Coast Guard Kim Hong-hee and the Joint Chiefs of Staff to cover up the incident during a meeting of related ministers on a day after Lee was killed. Lee’s bereaved family also attended the trial, demanding answers and justice. This case is a reminder that protecting the lives of citizens is a state duty that must not be neglected.