People Power Party: "Yeonpyeongdo Official Shooting Incident Concealed Due to President Moon's 'End-of-War Declaration'"

Published 24 Sep.2020 15:22(KST)

Ministry of National Defense "Condemns North Korea's Atrocities... Urges Punishment of Those Responsible"

Han Ki-ho, a member of the People Power Party's Foreign Affairs and Security Special Committee, is expressing his position on the Yeonpyeong Island missing public official shooting death incident at the National Assembly Communication Office in Yeouido, Seoul, on the morning of the 24th. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ga-yeon] Regarding the incident in which a public official aboard a Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries fishery guidance vessel went missing near the Northern Limit Line (NLL) in the West Sea, the People Power Party raised suspicions that the government concealed this fact for political reasons.

On the 24th, People Power Party lawmaker Han Ki-ho held a press conference at the National Assembly communication office and met with reporters, stating, "The missing person was reported at 12:51 PM on the 21st, and according to media reports, about 20 vessels were mobilized for the search," adding, "The government kept the missing person fact completely confidential from the public."

Lawmaker Han claimed, "President Moon included content related to the declaration of the end of the war in his speech at the UN General Assembly, and it appears that this speech was used to conceal the missing person fact."

He continued, "Our military surveillance equipment must have captured scenes of our citizen being shot at that time," and said, "Such an important incident is naturally reported immediately to the Blue House. President Moon Jae-in proposed the declaration of the end of the war despite knowing this fact."

He added, "The incident occurred on the 21st, but it was disclosed on the 23rd. We must clearly confirm what was done in the meantime," emphasizing, "There is ongoing controversy over whether it was a defection to the North. The family says there is absolutely no reason for defection. If so, it must be investigated whether it was intentional or not."

Lawmaker Han also stated, "There are rumors that cremated remains were already handed over to our side. I suspect the remains were taken without informing whether they were cremated," and argued, "We only know about the cremation because North Korea said so; if North Korea did not say, how would we know?"

He added, "Yesterday (the 23rd), I received a call from the Joint Chiefs of Staff during the day and was told a brief outline," and criticized, "We have requested the National Defense Committee to convene, but the ruling party side has not responded. It seems they do not want to open the committee."

People Power Party lawmaker Park Jin added, "We will pursue this issue and strive to uncover the truth through the party’s Foreign Affairs and Security Special Committee."

Earlier that day, the Ministry of National Defense issued a statement urging North Korea to explain and punish those responsible.

In the 'Statement on the Incident of Our Citizen Missing in the West Sea,' the Ministry of National Defense said, "Our military received a report from the Coast Guard at around 1 PM on September 21 that a crew member of a fishery guidance vessel belonging to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries went missing 1.2 miles south of Soyeonpyeong Island," and added, "The missing fishery guidance official, Mr. A, was performing fishery guidance duties on a fishery guidance vessel near Soyeonpyeong Island on September 21."

It continued, "After a detailed analysis of various intelligence, our military confirmed that North Korea committed atrocities by shooting our citizen found in the northern waters and burning the body," emphasizing, "Our military strongly condemns North Korea’s atrocities and strongly urges North Korea to explain and punish those responsible."