Anbosil Withdraws Appeal for 'West Sea Killing' Information Disclosure Request... "Correction of Past Unfair Measures"

Kim Tae-hyo, First Deputy Director of the National Security Office, Talks with Bereaved Families
"'Transfer of Presidential Records' Difficult to Disclose Information Managed by Moon Government... Regret"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] The National Security Office of the Presidential Office withdrew its appeal on the 16th in the information disclosure lawsuit regarding the ‘West Sea Public Official Killing Incident.’

In a press release distributed that morning, the National Security Office stated, "Today, we withdrew the appeal against the 'cancellation lawsuit of information disclosure refusal' filed by the bereaved family of Lee Dae-jun, the first mate of the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries’ fishery guidance vessel, who went missing near Yeonpyeong Island on September 22, 2020, and was killed by North Korean forces."

With the withdrawal of the appeal by the Security Office, the first-instance court ruling ordering the Security Office to partially disclose information is finalized as is.

The Security Office added, "We hope that this decision to withdraw the appeal will correct the past unjust measures that restricted information and failed to properly inform the bereaved family of the circumstances of death despite the fact that our citizen was killed by North Korean forces, and contribute even slightly to fulfilling the public’s right to know."

However, they said, "Even though the appeal is withdrawn, the related information has already been transferred as presidential designated records and is managed by the previous administration’s Security Office, making it currently difficult to disclose the information. We regret that we are unable to take sufficient measures that meet the expectations of the bereaved family and the public, including truth-finding."

The National Security Office reported that Kim Tae-hyo, the first deputy director of the National Security Office, explained the decision to withdraw the appeal and the review contents of related ministries during a phone call with the deceased’s older brother (the plaintiff) on behalf of President Yoon Seok-yeol on the same day.

The National Security Office added, "We will continue to strive to restore the honor of the deceased as desired by the bereaved family and to realize the public’s right to know."

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