"Cannot Believe Defection" Family of Shot Civil Servant Requests Information Disclosure from Ministry of National Defense

On the 22nd of last month, two demands were made: North Korean military eavesdropping recordings and footage of corpse mutilation
Bereaved family criticizes government's premature announcement... Son says "Never saw evidence, can't trust"

A, the brother of the North Korean shooting victim, held a press conference for foreign reporters at the Press Center in Jung-gu, Seoul on the 29th. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Byung-don] The family of Lee Mo (47), a public official belonging to the West Sea Fisheries Guidance and Management Unit under the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries who was killed by gunfire from North Korean soldiers, is requesting the Ministry of National Defense to disclose information such as the intercepted communication records at the time of the incident. Lee’s elder brother, Lee Rae-jin (55), will also hold a press conference in front of the Ministry of National Defense on the afternoon of the 6th regarding the information disclosure application.

The family is demanding the disclosure of two pieces of information. One is the North Korean military’s intercepted audio recording file from 3:30 PM to 10:51 PM on the 22nd of last month, and the other is a video file recorded on the same day from 10:11 PM to 10:51 PM showing the North Korean military mutilating the body of the shot public official. The family stated, "If the Ministry of National Defense releases the materials, it will be possible to confirm whether there was an intention to defect to the North as previously announced, whether the voice is indeed that of the deceased Lee, and whether the statements made in front of the North Korean soldiers’ gun barrels were according to his true intentions."

Previously, the Ministry of National Defense announced that based on intelligence obtained through interception and other methods, the deceased Lee had expressed his intention to defect to the North but was shot. However, the contents of the intelligence data that served as the basis for this judgment were not disclosed. The Korea Coast Guard also announced the interim investigation results on this incident, stating that Lee appeared to have voluntarily defected to the North. The Coast Guard cited points such as "the North side knew the missing person’s personal details in detail" and "it would be difficult to drift to the actual discovery location without artificial effort" as grounds for considering the defection scenario highly likely.

However, the family is protesting, saying they cannot trust the government’s announcement. Lee’s elder brother pointed out at a press conference with foreign reporters on the 29th that based on Lee’s usual behavior, it cannot be concluded that he defected to the North, and that the government’s announcement of the investigation results was too hasty. Along with this, Lee’s elder brother also disclosed a handwritten letter written by Lee’s son, who passed away on the 5th.

In the letter, the son wrote, "I want to ask if you really think it makes sense that Dad, who never professionally learned swimming and has a slim build, swam 38 km against the current," and added, "It’s just what the country says, but our family has never seen any evidence, so we cannot believe such an announcement."

Meanwhile, the Judicial Examination Preparation Group has filed a complaint with the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office against nine people who posted malicious comments on articles related to Lee’s family, on charges including defamation.

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