[2020 National Audit] Seo Wook: "Received Report That No Possibility of Defection to North Korea on the Day of Disappearance"

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] Defense Minister Seo Wook has sparked controversy by revealing that on the day the missing report of A (47), a Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries official who was shot by the North Korean military, was received, he was reported that there was "no possibility of defecting to the North." It is expected that the controversy surrounding the intelligence information, which became the "decisive" basis for changing the judgment from "simple missing" to "voluntary defector," will intensify.

At the Ministry of National Defense audit on the 7th, Minister Seo explained in response to the criticism from People Power Party lawmaker Ha Tae-kyung that the Ministry did not promptly request cooperation from the North on the day the missing report was received by the Coast Guard on the 21st of last month, saying, "(On the day of disappearance) we did not judge that he had crossed over to the North," and "When I first received the report on Monday (September 21, the day of disappearance), I asked the staff if there was a possibility of going to the North, and I was reported that 'the possibility of defecting to the North is low or none,' so at that time, we did not check communications."

Although the military authorities shared the report through the Coast Guard on the day of disappearance and began search support, they judged it as a "simple missing" for a full day until A was first found in North Korean waters the next day.

On the same day, the Ministry of National Defense also clarified in a text message sent to reporters covering the Ministry, stating, "Minister Seo Wook's statement that he was reported 'the possibility of defecting to the North is low or none' on the day of disappearance was shared in a situation where the Coast Guard was leading the search operation, meaning that the Joint Chiefs of Staff reported that 'considering the current flow, it is presumed unlikely that he drifted into the North.'" The Ministry added, "On the next day, the 22nd, we first became aware of the circumstances of A being found in the North through intelligence, and after analyzing various intelligence, there were circumstances presumed to be voluntary defection, so the Ministry of National Defense announced it on the 24th."

Earlier, the Ministry of National Defense announced on the 24th of last month, three days after A's disappearance, that North Korea shot A and then poured oil on the body and burned it, and based on the fact that there were signs that A expressed an intention to defect to the North, it stated that "it is judged that he attempted voluntary defection."

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