'West Sea Shooting' Former Defense Minister Seo Wook Files Detention Review Request "For Exercising Right to Defense"

Former Minister of National Defense Seo Wook, who is suspected of covering up the shooting of a public official in the West Sea, is attending the warrant hearing held at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul on the 21st. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] Seo Wook, former Minister of National Defense (59), who was detained on charges of deleting information related to the 'West Sea Public Official Shooting Incident,' has requested the court to reconsider whether his detention is justified.

According to the legal community on the 7th, Seo filed a detention review petition with the court the day before. The review was held around 2 p.m. at the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Appeal Division 5-2 (Presiding Judges Won Jeongsuk, Jeong Deoksu, Choi Byeongryul).

After the hearing, Seo’s attorney stated, "The investigation has been sufficiently completed, and the defendant needs to exercise his right to defense, so continuing detention seems excessive," adding that he continues to deny the charges themselves.

Seo is accused of instructing the deletion of military secrets from the Military Integrated Information Processing System (MIMS) that contradicted the government’s assessment that the late public official Lee Daejun voluntarily defected to North Korea in September 2020 (damage to official electronic records). He is also charged with abuse of authority and falsification of official documents for ordering false information to be included in the Joint Chiefs of Staff report.

According to the audit results announced by the Board of Audit and Inspection on the 13th of last month, 60 military intelligence-related reports uploaded to MIMS were deleted following Seo’s instructions after a ministerial meeting held on the morning of September 23, 2020. The Board judged that the Moon Jae-in administration unjustifiably concluded Lee’s voluntary defection, citing charges of dereliction of duty, abuse of authority, and falsification of official documents.

Prosecutors are reportedly planning to indict Seo before the original detention expiration date on the 9th, regardless of the detention review outcome.

Meanwhile, Kim Honghee, former Commissioner of the Korea Coast Guard (54), who was detained on the same day as Seo, was released on detention suspension the day before due to his father’s funeral. After completing the funeral and cremation, he is expected to be re-detained around the 10th. The detention period will be extended by the suspension period, likely delaying Kim’s indictment.

Kim is charged with announcing investigative results that concluded voluntary defection by using unverified evidence in line with the Blue House National Security Office’s policy.

The 'West Sea Public Official Shooting Incident' refers to the killing of Lee by North Korean soldiers in the West Sea in 2020. At the time, the Moon Jae-in administration concluded that Lee voluntarily defected, but under the current administration, the possibility that Lee did not defect has been raised. Consequently, the Board of Audit and Inspection launched an audit in June.

Former Commissioner Kim Hong-hee of the Korea Coast Guard is taking the oath as a witness at the National Assembly's Agriculture, Forestry, Livestock, Food, and Maritime Affairs Committee's audit of the Korea Coast Guard held at the National Assembly on October 13 last year. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

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