Bereaved Family of North Korean Killed Official Files Human Rights Complaint Against Assemblyman Shin Dong-geun and Coast Guard Commissioner

On the 3rd of last month, the military and the Coast Guard have been conducting extensive searches from the west of Yeonpyeong Island to the south of Socheong Island in the northern West Sea to find the body of a Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries official who disappeared at sea near Socheong Island and was later shot and killed by North Korea.

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jung-yoon] The family of Lee Mo (47), a Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries official who died after being shot by North Korean soldiers, is filing a complaint with the National Human Rights Commission against Democratic Party lawmaker Shin Dong-geun and Korea Coast Guard Commissioner Kim Hong-hee.

Lee’s older brother, Lee Rae-jin (55), announced on the 20th at around 2 p.m. that he would hold a press conference in front of the Human Rights Commission in Jung-gu, Seoul, and submit the complaint.

The press conference was attended by the family’s legal representative, lawyer Kim Ki-yoon, and the deceased’s wife. The complaint targets lawmaker Shin, Commissioner Kim, Yun Seong-hyun, head of the Coast Guard’s Investigation and Intelligence Bureau, and Kim Tae-gyun, head of the Coast Guard’s Criminal Division. The deceased’s son, A, plans to submit the complaint.

Regarding the purpose of the complaint against lawmaker Shin, A stated, “He inflicted psychological harm by driving a nail into the hearts of the deceased’s children, who are grieving the loss of their father.” Shin had previously sparked controversy by posting on his social network service (SNS) in September that “if someone attempts to defect to the North, they may be shot.”

Regarding Commissioner Kim and other Coast Guard officials, the family explained, “The Coast Guard, which failed to find the deceased for over a month, held a press conference in the form of an interim investigation report immediately after the bereaved family returned from a memorial service to Incheon Port, using the term ‘mental panic’ to describe the deceased, thereby violating human rights.”

They added, “Considering the weather conditions at the time of disappearance, the statements of the crew of the Mugunghwa 10, which suggest that defection to the North was impossible, and the initial investigation materials indicating it was not a defection, were withheld from the family’s information disclosure request by the Coast Guard citing ‘ongoing investigation.’ In contrast, the Coast Guard publicly announced an interim investigation regarding the deceased’s gambling, which is unrelated to defection, thereby violating the human rights of the deceased and his children.”

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