Democratic Party: "The Judgment on Defection to North Korea Was Made Through Comprehensive Assessment Using Intelligence from ROK-US Joint Assets"

"Cooperation in Disclosing National Assembly Minutes if Disclosure of Confidential Information Is Desired Despite Security Risks"

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] The Democratic Party lawmakers who were members of the National Defense Committee at the time of the killing of the West Sea public official stated that the judgment of ‘defection to North Korea’ was based on intelligence collected using combined South Korea-US intelligence assets. Former defense committee members from the Democratic Party said that despite the security harm, if the People Power Party launches a political offensive, they will cooperate to disclose the closed meetings held in the National Assembly.

Fisheries guidance vessel Mugungho 10, on which public official A (47), who died from gunfire by North Korea, was aboard [Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 20th, former Democratic Party defense committee members including former chairman Min Hong-chul held a press conference at the National Assembly communication office regarding the controversy over whether the official defected to North Korea, explaining, "At that time, whether or not the defection occurred was not the core issue," and added, "Regardless of defection, the core fact was that our citizen was shot dead by North Korean soldiers." They introduced the process, stating that the government responded strongly regardless of defection, and North Korea also issued an apology.

Furthermore, regarding the judgment of the official’s defection, they explained, "It appears that a high-level judgment was made based on information from all sources of the relevant agencies at the time, and this was disclosed." In this regard, they said, "The Joint Chiefs of Staff also stated that ‘the analysis of all-source information concluded that there was a high possibility of an attempted defection,’" and explained, "The information analysis mentioned here refers to intelligence judgments made by synthesizing intelligence collected using combined South Korea-US intelligence assets."

They also introduced that the People Power Party defense committee members at the time agreed with this judgment. They said, "The People Power Party’s defense committee floor leader at the time also listened in detail to the Ministry of National Defense’s basis for judgment at a closed full defense committee meeting immediately after the incident, and when asked by reporters about defection, he conducted a back briefing saying, ‘Because the circumstances that allow us to judge defection are very clear.’"

Regarding the dispute over the truth and the People Power Party’s demand to disclose presidential records, they counterattacked by proposing to disclose the National Assembly meeting minutes that were reported in closed sessions at the time. They said, "The People Power Party’s defense committee floor leader at the time also listened in detail to the Ministry of National Defense’s basis for judgment at a closed full defense committee meeting immediately after the incident," and added, "If People Power Party lawmakers desperately want to disclose the closed meeting minutes from September 24 despite the security harm, we will cooperate with the inspection and disclosure of the minutes according to the National Assembly Act."

They continued, "If doubts are not resolved even with this, under the judgment of the Yoon Seok-yeol administration, SI information at the time can be disclosed with the cooperation of the US side," but warned, "However, since this information involves sensitive sources, please be aware that it will cause harm to the security of the Republic of Korea."

Additionally, they strongly criticized the politicization of this issue. They warned, "The Yoon Seok-yeol administration should remember that there are things that cannot be used for political strife."

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