'West Sea Shooting' Seo Hoon, Former National Security Office Chief, to Face First Trial Next Month

Former National Security Office Director Suh Hoon, who was the top official in the Moon Jae-in administration's North Korea security line during the "West Sea Public Official Shooting Incident," is attending the warrant hearing held at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul on the 2nd. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] The first trial of former National Security Office Director Seo Hoon, who was identified as the top official responsible during the 'West Sea Public Official Shooting Incident,' will be held next month.

According to the court on the 13th, the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 25-2 (Presiding Judges Park Jeongje, Park Sarang, Park Jeonggil) will hold the first pretrial conference for former Director Seo and former Coast Guard Commissioner Kim Honghee at 11 a.m. on January 20 next year. The pretrial conference is a procedure to hear opinions from both the prosecution and defense and to establish plans for evidence admission and other proof matters; the defendants are not required to attend.

Former Director Seo was indicted in custody on the 9th. As the first indictment case among senior officials of the Moon Jae-in administration's Blue House, he is charged with abuse of authority and obstruction of rights by ordering Joint Chiefs of Staff officials and former Commissioner Kim to take 'security maintenance' measures to conceal the shooting incident during a ministerial meeting held around 1 a.m. on September 23, 2020, the day after the public official, the late Lee Daejun, was shot by North Korean forces.

He is also accused of distributing false press releases to the Coast Guard, making it appear as if they were searching for Lee while hiding the shooting incident. Until October 2020, he is charged with preparing reports and announcement materials with the Ministry of National Defense and the Coast Guard to fabricate the 'defection to the North' narrative, and distributing such false materials to overseas diplomatic missions and related ministries at the National Security Office level (charges of false public document creation and use).

Former Commissioner Kim was indicted without detention on charges of false public document creation and use, defamation by false facts, and defamation of the deceased for distributing false announcement materials about the search and the possibility of defection to the North under former Director Seo’s orders, and for drafting and delivering an information disclosure decision notice stating 'no data exists' when the bereaved family requested the release of the 'tidal prediction analysis report' at the time of Lee’s death.

Former Director Seo’s side denies the charges, stating that there was no attempt to conceal the shooting incident. They argue that the judgment of voluntary defection to the North was a legitimate policy decision made by synthesizing related intelligence within a limited time frame.

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