People Power Party Pressures Moon and Democratic Party: "Presidential Records on 'North Korean Official Killing' Must Be Released"

Kwon Seong-dong "If the Democratic Party is confident, there is no reason to refuse"
Lee Jun-seok points out "Isn't the Democratic Party's usual motto to uncover the truth?"

Attorney Kim Ki-yoon, the legal representative of the bereaved family of the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries official killed by North Korean soldiers in September 2020 (from left), Lee Rae-jin (elder brother), and the spouse of the slain official are announcing their position on the so-called 'West Sea Official Killing Incident' announced the previous day by the Presidential Office and the Coast Guard at the Seoul Bar Association building in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on the 17th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunju Lee] The People Power Party is continuously pressuring former President Moon Jae-in and the Democratic Party of Korea regarding the killing of the government official in the West Sea.

On the 18th, Kwon Seong-dong, floor leader of the People Power Party, posted on his Facebook, stating, "A South Korean government official was shot and killed by North Korea while performing official duties, and the body was burned. This is a 'fact.'" He added, "We need to find out by whom, under what circumstances, and for what purpose this was classified as a 'defection to the North'."

Kwon further said, "Former President Moon Jae-in must make a statement in light of the public's suspicions," and "The presidential records contain the truth. To access them, approval from two-thirds of the National Assembly members is required. If the Democratic Party is confident, there is no reason to refuse."

Lee Jun-seok, leader of the People Power Party, also strongly criticized Woo Sang-ho, emergency committee chairman of the Democratic Party, who dismissed the idea of cooperating with the review of sealed presidential records on his Facebook the day before. Lee shared the article and said, "Isn't the Democratic Party's usual motto 'truth investigation'?" He pointed out, "Just as they have always strongly demanded truth investigations centered on victims and bereaved families in cases like the May 18 Gwangju Uprising and the Sewol ferry disaster, they should do the same for the defection operation incident."

The People Power Party has formed a 'West Sea Killed Official Incident Task Force' to take charge of this matter. They plan to conduct activities to uncover the truth. They also intend to push for the disclosure of presidential designated records related to the Blue House's response at the time. Previously, the bereaved families of the killed official won a lawsuit after requesting information disclosure from the Blue House, but the Blue House appealed. Currently, these records were designated as presidential designated records before former President Moon's departure, making them inaccessible without disclosure. The families have even filed a constitutional complaint.

Although two-thirds of the National Assembly's consent is required to review presidential records, the Democratic Party is unlikely to actively support this, making the disclosure uncertain. Woo Sang-ho said to reporters the day before, "Among intelligence agencies, intercepted materials or SI (special intelligence) data presumed to indicate defection to the North led to the conclusion of 'defection to the North,'" and questioned, "Is this such an important matter among the current national priorities?" This implied that he does not agree to disclose the records.

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