'West Sea Shooting' Former Defense Minister Seo Wook Released... Detention Review Granted

Former Minister of National Defense Seo Wook, who is suspected of concealing the shooting of a civil servant 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-hyeong aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] Seo Wook, the former Minister of National Defense (59), who was detained on charges of deleting information related to the 'West Sea Public Official Shooting Incident,' will be released on the 8th.

The Seoul Central District Court Criminal Appeals Division 5-2 (Presiding Judges Won Jeongsuk, Jeong Deoksu, Choi Byeongryul) made a decision to grant the request on the same day after conducting a detention review for Seo the previous day. A detention review is a procedure where a detained suspect requests the court to reassess the legality of their detention.

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

However, the Public Investigation Division 1 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Lee Heedong) plans to indict Seo before the expiration of his detention period on the 9th, regardless of the detention review outcome.

Seo is accused of ordering the unauthorized deletion of Special Handling Confidential Information (SI) shared on the military information network 'Military Integrated Information Processing System (MIMS)' around the time of two meetings of related ministers held the day after the death of the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries official, the late Lee Daejun, who was shot by North Korean soldiers in September 2020. Lee’s family filed a complaint against Seo with the prosecution in July.

According to the Board of Audit and Inspection's findings, the Ministry of National Defense recognized Lee’s death immediately after it occurred, and the Blue House National Security Office held a related ministers' meeting the next morning. There is evidence that Seo ordered the deletion of intelligence reports from MIMS and other systems immediately after this meeting.

Former Director Kim Honghee (54) is also expected to be indicted soon alongside Seo. The prosecution plans to decide on legal action against Kim within this week. Kim is accused of announcing investigative results that concluded voluntary defection to the North by using unverified evidence in line with the Blue House National Security Office’s policy. He was detained on charges including abuse of authority, falsification of official documents, and defamation of the deceased but was temporarily released on the 6th after detention was suspended due to his father’s death.

If they are indicted, the prosecution is expected to intensify investigations targeting the previous administration’s security line, including former National Intelligence Service Director Park Jie-won, former National Security Office Director Seo Hoon, and former First Deputy Director Seo Juseok.

Former Commissioner of the Korea Coast Guard Kim Hong-hee appeared at the National Assembly's Agriculture, Forestry, Livestock, Food, and Maritime Affairs Committee's audit of the Korea Coast Guard on November 13 last year, responding to lawmakers' questions. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

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