The prosecution, which is investigating the allegations of deletion and manipulation of records of the 'Sea of official attack case', has launched an additional search and seizure of the Korea Coast Guard.
According to the legal circles, the 1st Public Investigation Division of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Prosecutor Hee-dong Lee) is conducting a search and seizure of the Coast Guard Office building and server location in Songdo International City, Yeonsu-gu, Incheon on the morning of the 17th.
About 20 investigators are securing related electronic documents and messenger data from the Security Division of the Coast Guard, which first investigated the murder of Lee Dae-jun (47 years old at the time of his death), an official of the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries.
Today's data acquisition is an extension of yesterday's all-round seizure and search.
The prosecution yesterday raided and searched about 10 places, including the homes of former National Intelligence Service Director Park Ji-won, former National Security Office Director Seo Hoon, former Defense Minister Seo Wook, and former Coast Guard Commissioner Kim Hong-hee, and confiscated cell phones and notebooks.
The prosecution's search and seizure of the Coast Guard on this day seems to be a way to reconstruct the investigation situation of the Coast Guard, which came to the conclusion that it was presumed to have defected to North Korea at the time of the incident, and how it overturned this judgment.
Prosecutors have been investigating the case by calling employees from the Incheon Maritime Police Station as witnesses.
The Coast Guard announced the results of the interim investigation a week after Lee Dae-jun was assassinated by North Korean soldiers in the West Sea in September 2020.
The main evidence was the intelligence that the military authorities intercepted North Korea's communication signals and the results of sea drift predictions analyzed by mobilizing specialized agencies.
The Coast Guard cited the fact that Lee often gambled and had debts before his death, and used it as the basis for the decision to defect to North Korea.
However, the Coast Guard overturned the results of the investigation by holding a press briefing on June 16, 1 year and 9 months later, and saying that Lee's intention to defect to North Korea was not found.
The prosecution plans to analyze the data obtained from the two-day search and seizure to reconstruct the situation of delivery of orders between government departments and the decision-making process at the time.
After that, it is expected that major suspects such as Park and Seo will be summoned for investigation.
(Photo = Yonhap News)