"I Want to Ask Why You Couldn't Protect Dad" Son of 'Shot Public Official' Appeals... Controversy Rekindled

Son of Shot Public Official Releases Handwritten Appeal
Bereaved Family to Hold Press Conference Today (6th) Afternoon Demanding Disclosure of Defense Ministry Intercept Records
Disclosure of Related Materials Also a Key Issue in National Assembly Audit

A handwritten letter from the son of the murdered public official, Mr. Lee. / Photo by Lee Rae-jin, Mr. Lee's older brother

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Suwan] The family of Mr. Lee, a Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries official who was shot dead and whose body was mutilated by North Korean soldiers, publicly released a letter written by Lee’s son to President Moon Jae-in on the 5th, requesting a thorough investigation. The opposition party criticized that the president must respond to the family’s letter. Previously, the controversy seemed to subside after North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un apologized, but the son’s letter appears to have reignited the debate.

Lee Rae-jin, the older brother of the slain official Lee, shared on his Facebook the handwritten letter from his high school sophomore nephew, Lee, addressed to the president. The letter contained an appeal to uncover the truth behind the unjust death of his father and restore his honor.

In the letter, Lee described his father as "a public official of the Republic of Korea and a citizen who deserved protection. Due to the country’s fault, he suffered for a long time in the cold sea, was shot dead, and then burned." He appealed, "Who created the current situation where even the body cannot be found? What was this country doing when my father was cruelly killed? Why couldn’t you protect my father?"

Lee strongly refuted the government’s claim that his father had defected to the North. He wrote, "(My father) never learned swimming professionally. Do you really think it makes sense that he swam 39 kilometers against the current?" He questioned, "Mr. President, I want to ask you: if the person suffering this pain now were your child or grandchild, would you still act the same way?"

The opposition party immediately voiced criticism in response to the family’s letter demanding a fact-finding investigation. On the 6th, People Power Party lawmaker Cho Su-jin posted on her Facebook, "The high school son of the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries official who was shot and burned by North Korean soldiers last month asked President Moon in an open letter, 'What was the country doing when my father was killed?'" She added, "I request a response from President Moon. Should this be seen as a letter from the son of a ‘voluntary defector’?"

Additionally, Rep. Cho advocated for △ urging a joint North-South fact-finding investigation △ pressuring for a resolution condemning North Korea △ exploring options to file a complaint against North Korea at the United Nations. Ahead of the national audit, the People Power Party plans to take strong measures, including proposing to summon the victim’s brother as a witness.

The People Power Party continues to call for a thorough investigation into the incident. They also maintain that the deceased Mr. Lee showed no signs of defecting to the North. On the 3rd, Ha Tae-kyung, a member of the National Defense Committee from the People Power Party, criticized the government on his Facebook, saying, "The Korean government labeled the missing official as a defector without decisive evidence," and "The government’s defection theory, used to reduce its own responsibility, kills the victim twice and worsens inter-Korean relations."

A government official ID card of Mr. Lee, a government worker who went missing near Soyeonpyeongdo in the northern West Sea and was shot dead by North Korea. Photo by Yonhap News

On the other hand, the Democratic Party of Korea holds the position that the incident occurred during Mr. Lee’s defection attempt and supports conducting a joint investigation with North Korea.

Shin Young-dae, spokesperson for the Democratic Party, said in a written briefing on the 4th, "Recently, tensions have risen in inter-Korean relations due to the death of a civilian attempting to defect into North Korean waters," and "We expect cooperation from the North for a joint investigation. The Democratic Party will do its best to achieve peace on the Korean Peninsula through reconciliation and cooperation."

At the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 5th, Shin Dong-geun, a senior member of the Democratic Party, criticized the People Power Party, which has continuously denied the government’s announcement that the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries official shot by North Korean soldiers last month was attempting to defect, calling it "distortion, not truth creation."

Shin said, "Before the Coast Guard’s interim report, the Ministry of National Defense made an official announcement that he tried to defect, was shot by North Korean soldiers, and his body was mutilated," adding, "However, the People Power Party accepts the shooting and mutilation parts of the Ministry of National Defense’s announcement but ignores and rejects the defection part, showing a double standard."

Previously, the Ministry of National Defense stated that the deceased official was shot after expressing his intention to defect to the North. The intelligence data supporting this judgment was not disclosed.

Amid growing controversy over the truth of the defection claim, North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un sent a notification to the Blue House expressing deep apologies to the South Korean people. According to the Blue House, on the 25th of last month, the North stated, "Comrade Kim Jong-un is deeply sorry to President Moon and the South Korean people for causing disappointment due to the unexpected unfortunate incident that occurred in our waters, especially when the South Korean people are already burdened by the severe virus (COVID-19)."

Meanwhile, the bereaved family announced that they will hold a press conference at 3 p.m. today (the 6th) in front of the Ministry of National Defense and file an information disclosure request regarding the Ministry’s intercepted records related to the incident. The information disclosure request targets the intercepted audio recordings held by the Ministry of National Defense from 3:30 p.m. to 10:51 p.m. on the 22nd of last month, as well as the video footage recorded by North Korean soldiers from 10:11 p.m. to 10:51 p.m. on the same day showing the mutilation of the shot official’s body.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.