The Coast Guard said today (16th) that they could not find any basis to conclude that a public official of the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries who disappeared two years ago in the sea of ​​Soyeonpyeong Island in the northern part of the West Sea and died after being shot by the North Korean army at the time.



The Incheon Maritime Police Station held a press briefing today and was unable to find the intention of a fisherman A (47 years old at the time of death), a fishery instructor belonging to the West Sea Fishery Guidance Team of the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, who disappeared in the sea on Soyeonpyeong Island, Ongjin-gun, Incheon in September 2020 and was shot dead in North Korean waters. said he couldn't.



This comment is noteworthy because the Coast Guard overturned the results of the interim investigation two years ago, which said that Mr. A voluntarily defected to North Korea based on intelligence from the military authorities and the victim's gambling debts, when the government changed.



Park Sang-chun, chief of the Incheon Coast Guard, said, "Based on the Ministry of National Defense's announcement, etc., we conducted on-site investigations, such as opening up various possibilities, such as the escape of the attacked public servant, but did not find any evidence to confirm the intention to defect."



Yoon Hyung-jin, head of the Ministry of National Defense's policy planning division, also appeared at the briefing, saying, "We could not prove that a missing public official left North Korea voluntarily."



He added, "I have confused the public by announcing that the (past) murdered public official may have attempted to defect to North Korea," he added.



Earlier, the Coast Guard announced the results of the interim investigation 8 days after Mr. A went missing in September 2020 and said it was judged that he had fled North Korea.



The main evidence was intelligence that the military and intelligence authorities intercepted North Korea's communications signals and the results of analysis of sea drift predictions.



The Coast Guard later announced that "the missing person gambled before death and had debts," and after disclosing the period and number of gambling as well as the amount of debt, it was judged that he had fled North Korea for the purpose of escaping from reality in a state of mental panic.



It was also found that the Coast Guard has also stopped investigating a North Korean soldier who is accused of shooting and killing Mr. A.



The Coast Guard recently sent a notice to the family of A, saying, "The victim was admitted to have died after being shot by a North Korean military bullet in September 2020. "He said.



"The whereabouts of [the North Korean soldier] are unclear, and we cannot expect North Korea's cooperation due to the division of the South and the North," he said.



Chief Park explained, "There was a geographical limitation (the investigation) because the location of the incident was in North Korean waters.



He apologized, "As the International Criminal Justice Cooperation has been ongoing for about 1 year and 6 months, the investigation took a considerable amount of time." He apologized.



As the investigation into this case is concluded, the Coast Guard will withdraw the appeal of the lawsuit against the disposition of refusal to disclose information filed by the family of Mr. A, and will disclose related information according to the court decision.



On September 21, 2020, Mr. A went missing from a fishing guidance ship floating 2.2 km south of Soyeonpyeong Island, Ongjin-gun, Incheon, and drifted into North Korean waters, and was shot and killed by North Korean soldiers a day later.



The bereaved family protested against the Coast Guard's announcement of a voluntary defection to North Korea, and filed a lawsuit against the Blue House National Security Office, the Coast Guard, and the Ministry of National Defense for information disclosure, partially winning the first trial.



The court ruled that information about the North's discovery of the missing person at sea and information on the disappearance incident in the sea near the Military Demarcation Line could be accessed by the bereaved family.



It was also ordered to disclose the initial investigation materials prepared by the Coast Guard and the testimony of the deceased colleagues.