Former President Moon Jae-in has rejected a request from the Board of Audit and Inspection for a written investigation into the ‘murder of a public official in the West Sea’ in 2020. Former President Moon said he expressed displeasure at the Board of Audit and Inspection’s request for a written investigation by phone and e-mail, calling it “very rude”. The Democratic Party of Korea decided to file a complaint with the High Commissioner’s Crime Investigation Office for abuse of power, saying, “It has become clear that former President Moon is the target of political retaliation led by the prosecution and the Board of Audit and Inspection.” It’s an incomprehensible reaction.
Lee Dae-jun, the first navigator of the West Sea Fisheries Management Group belonging to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, disappeared while on duty on a fishing guidance ship off Yeonpyeong Island in September 2020. At that time, the Moon Jae-in government announced that the deceased had fled North Korea voluntarily due to large gambling debts, but the bereaved family said there was no reason to defect, and demanded an investigation into the truth and the release of related information. However, the last government did not reveal the truth, and the promise of former President Moon Jae-in, who said to the deceased’s son, “I will take care of myself so that the truth is revealed,” was not kept. In the end, after the launch of the Yun Seok-yeol government, the Ministry of National Defense and Coast Guard overturned the previous announcement, saying that the defection to North Korea was not proven.
Given the circumstances, why is it political retaliation to investigate former President Moon, who was the chief government officer at the time? Is it rude to conduct a written investigation rather than a face-to-face investigation? It is the state’s responsibility to do their best to protect even one person’s life and to clarify the truth so that there is no unfair death. But what made you so busy driving them to North Korea in such a hurry? Aren’t you sorry to the bereaved family who held a ‘deathless funeral’ on the 22nd, two years after his death?
The Board of Audit and Inspection disclosed the case of sending questionnaires in the name of the Board of Audit and Inspection to other former presidents about the Democratic Party’s allegations of political retaliation. Former Presidents Roh Tae-woo in 1993 and Kim Young-sam in 1998 received and answered questionnaires, while former Presidents Lee Myung-bak in 2017 and Park Geun-hye in 2018 refused to receive the questionnaire. I believe that it is the duty of the former president to openly respond to the investigation and resolve public suspicions. There is no investigation or investigation or sanctuary. If you frame the ‘political oppression’ and threaten with candlelight, you will face a headwind of public opinion.