[Reporter’s Notebook] The Military Must Serve the People, Not the Administration

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] "As an officer in uniform, I feel a sense of skepticism because it seems the military distorted the facts depending on the administration."

On the 16th, an officer sighed while watching the Ministry of National Defense's announcement regarding the 'West Sea Civilian Killing' case. The Ministry announced that Mr. Lee, a civilian employee of the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries who was shot dead by North Korean soldiers in the northern waters of Yeonpyeong Island near the Northern Limit Line (NLL) in September 2020, "defected to North Korea voluntarily." They cited intercepted communications between North Korean soldiers and other special intelligence (SI) as decisive evidence.

However, after one year and nine months, they bowed their heads and overturned the Moon Jae-in administration’s judgment. The previous administration’s Ministry of National Defense viewed it as a defection, but the current government stated there is no basis for such a conclusion. They also offered an excuse, saying they changed their stance from the initial announcement after receiving key issue response guidelines related to the incident from the Blue House National Security Office. This means they revised the description of the corpse burning 'atrocity' to a 'presumption.' They also blamed North Korea, counterattacking by saying, "It is clear that they committed the atrocity of shooting our citizen and burning the corpse."

The courage to take a step closer to the truth even now is commendable. However, there is also considerable disappointment inside and outside the military. The fact is one, but with the change of administration, they have fallen into a political group that reversed their position 180 degrees.

There are suspicions that the Ministry of National Defense manipulated special intelligence to suit the Blue House’s preferences and pushed Mr. Lee as a defector. The special intelligence was transferred to presidential designated records, which remain classified for up to 15 years after former President Moon Jae-in’s term ended, making immediate disclosure difficult. Access to these records requires the consent of two-thirds of the National Assembly members, but the Democratic Party is unlikely to agree easily.

If a field unit officer sighs, how much more so the public? The sarcastic remark that the military is a "uniformed group lurking around politics" seems inevitable. The military must be more honest before civic groups or bereaved families file complaints and investigations by prosecutors and police begin. If the truth is distorted in the name of security, the public will not believe the 'real truth' either.

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