'West Sea Shooting' Kim Hong-hee, Former Coast Guard Commissioner, Requests Detention Review

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 held on October 13 last year, responding to lawmakers' questions. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] Kim Honghee, former Commissioner of the Korea Coast Guard (54), who was detained in connection with the 'West Sea Public Official Shooting Incident,' has requested the court to reconsider whether his detention is justified.

According to the court on the 9th, Kim filed a detention review petition at the Seoul Central District Court that morning. The hearing is scheduled for 2:40 PM on the 10th at the Criminal Division 2 of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Park Nosu).

Kim, who was the chief investigator from the Coast Guard for the case of the late Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries official Lee Daejun, who died in the West Sea in September 2020, faces charges including abuse of authority and falsification of official documents. The prosecution believes that Kim prematurely concluded that Lee voluntarily defected to North Korea by using unverified evidence, concealing existing evidence, and distorting experimental results, and subsequently announced the investigation results.

Kim’s legal team noted that Seo Wook, former Minister of National Defense, who was also detained, previously filed a detention review petition and was released following the court's approval the day before. Last month, the court issued detention warrants for them citing concerns over evidence destruction and flight risk. However, the panel handling Seo’s detention review determined that he was unlikely to destroy evidence at a level warranting continued detention or pose a threat to those involved in the case, leading to his release.

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