Prosecutors Summon Former National Security Advisor Suh Hoon for 'West Sea Shooting' Investigation Two Days in a Row

Seohun, Former Director of the National Security Office
Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] The prosecution investigating the 'West Sea Public Official Shooting Incident' is summoning Seo Hoon, former National Security Office Director and the top official in the Moon Jae-in administration's North Korea security line, for questioning two days in a row.

According to the legal community on the 25th, the Public Investigation Division 1 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Lee Hee-dong) summoned former Director Seo in the morning as a suspect. Seo was also questioned by the prosecution the previous day. The prosecution is focusing on investigating what instructions he gave around the time when the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries official, the late Lee Dae-jun, was shot dead by North Korean soldiers in September 2020.

Former Director Seo is suspected of having prematurely concluded that Lee had 'voluntarily defected to the North' during a ministerial meeting held around 1 a.m. on September 23, 2020, the day after Lee was killed by North Korean soldiers, and of ordering related ministries to delete confidential intelligence that contradicted this conclusion.

The prosecution believes that, following instructions from the National Security Office, former Minister of National Defense Seo Wook ordered the deletion of confidential information such as wiretapping data from the Military Information Integrated Processing System (MIMS). Former National Intelligence Service Director Park Jie-won is also suspected of ordering the deletion of intelligence reports within the NIS.

Considering that former Director Seo strongly denies the charges and the seriousness of the allegations, the prosecution is reportedly reviewing the possibility of requesting an arrest warrant.

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