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Prosecutors investigating the case of a public official who was shot and killed by North Korean soldiers in the West Sea two years ago has requested an arrest warrant for former Defense Minister Seo Wook and former Commissioner of the Coast Guard Kim Hong-hee.
This is the first request for an arrest warrant related to the attack on the West Sea.
Correspondent Han So-hee.
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Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office's Public Investigation Division 1 requested an arrest warrant today (18th) against former Defense Minister Seo Wook and former Commissioner of the Maritime Police Agency Kim Hong-hee.
The charges include abuse of power and creation of false public documents.
This is the first arrest warrant request in about four months since the investigation began in June, right after the inauguration of the Yun Seok-yeol government, after the Coast Guard overturned its position and the bereaved family's accusations.
According to the audit results recently released by the Board of Audit and Inspection, former Minister Seo ordered the deletion of 60 cases of military secrets containing eavesdropping information that contradicted the government's judgment that Lee voluntarily defected to North Korea after the death of Lee Dae-joon, or in the Joint Chiefs of Staff report. He is charged with ordering false information to be written.
Former Coast Guard Commissioner Kim Hong-hee is accused of using unconfirmed evidence in accordance with the policy of the Blue House National Security Office, concealing existing evidence, and distorting experimental results to announce the results of an investigation focusing on North Korea voluntarily.
Both of them were included in the list of 20 people that the Board of Audit and Inspection commissioned the prosecution to investigate.
An investigation into former National Security Office Director Seo Hoon and former National Intelligence Service Director Park Ji-won, who led the government response at the time of the incident by requesting arrest warrants for former Minister Seo and former Commissioner Kim, appears to be imminent.