'West Sea Shooting Cover-up' Former National Security Office Chief Suh Hoon Released on Bail

Former Blue House National Security Office Chief Seo Hoon, who was indicted on charges of concealing the 'West Sea Civil Servant Shooting Incident,' was released on bail after four months of detention and will face trial while not in custody.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

According to the legal community on the 3rd, the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 25-2 (Presiding Judge Park Jeong-je, Ji Gwi-yeon, Park Jeong-gil) accepted Seo's bail request that day. However, as a condition of bail, Seo was required to pay a deposit of 150 million won, of which 100 million won could be substituted with a bail bond insurance certificate. There is also a condition restricting his residence, and any changes must be approved by the court in advance.

Additionally, the court ordered Seo to attend scheduled trial dates and to obtain prior permission before traveling abroad. Contacting or meeting with co-defendants and persons related to the case, as well as persuading or coercing others to retract statements, was also prohibited.

Previously, Seo was detained on December 3 last year and was indicted six days later on the 9th. The charge involves abuse of authority and obstruction of the exercise of rights, stemming from his alleged instruction at a ministerial meeting held around 1 a.m. on September 23, 2020?the day after the late Lee Dae-jun, a Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries civil servant, was killed by North Korean forces?to conceal the shooting incident by ordering Joint Chiefs of Staff officials and former Coast Guard Commissioner Kim Hong-hee to maintain secrecy.

During the bail hearing held in January, the court was requested to grant bail considering that the defendant suffers from cardiovascular disease and is elderly at 70 years old by Korean age. Former Minister of National Defense Seo Wook and former Commissioner Kim, who were indicted alongside Seo, were detained during the investigation phase but were released after their detention review applications were accepted.

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