Court Dismisses Injunction Request by Family of 'North Korean Shooting Victim Official' to Access Blue House Information

Lee Rae-jin (right), the older brother of the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries official killed by North Korean soldiers, is holding a press conference at the Seoul Administrative Court in Yangjae-dong, Seocho-gu, Seoul, ahead of filing a provisional injunction to prohibit the designation of presidential records and to request access to Blue House information. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] The family of a Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries official who was killed by North Korean soldiers in September two years ago filed an injunction request against the Blue House, demanding the disclosure of reports from the time of the incident, but the request was not accepted.

The Seoul Administrative Court Administrative Division 11 (Chief Judge Kang Woo-chan) announced on the 11th that it dismissed the injunction request filed by Lee Rae-jin, the brother of the slain official, against the President and the Director of the National Security Office. Dismissal means that the case is concluded without substantive judgment because the lawsuit requirements were not met. The court stated, "This application is not a form permitted by the Administrative Litigation Act," and added, "Since the designation of presidential records has not yet materialized, substantive litigation cannot even be filed at this stage, and a 'preventive' suspension of execution request cannot be allowed."

Lee filed the injunction request on the 29th of last month, stating, "If former President Moon Jae-in's records requested by the bereaved family are designated as presidential records, the information will no longer be accessible." Earlier, in November of last year, he filed a lawsuit demanding the disclosure of reports prepared by the Korea Coast Guard and the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries at the time of his brother's death and won partially. However, due to the government's appeal, the related information was not disclosed to Lee and his family. The Blue House National Security Office maintains the position that "the information is scheduled to be designated as presidential records and cannot be disclosed to the bereaved family."

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