SEOUL– The bereaved family of a South Korean fisheries official killed by North Korea in 2020 warned Monday they will file a criminal complaint against former President Moon Jae-in unless the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) cooperates for the disclosure of documents related to the case.
The family of the late official, Lee Dae-joon, has demanded to know why the previous Moon government announced, without sufficient evidence, that their loved one was shot and killed while attempting to defect to the North.
After President Yoon Suk-yeol took office last month, the Coast Guard and the defense ministry revisited the case before overturning their previous conclusion on the alleged defection attempt, while apologizing to the bereaved family.
On Monday, Lee Rae-jin, the elder brother of the late official, met with leaders of the main opposition DP, which was the ruling party at the time of the death, and pressed the party to cooperate for the disclosure of classified presidential records.
The records can be opened upon parliamentary approval from two-thirds of lawmakers or a warrant issued by a high court in the jurisdiction. Cooperation from the DP is key to winning parliamentary approval because the party holds 170 out of the 299 National Assembly seats.
“We will confirm our decision to file a criminal complaint against former President Moon Jae-in unless the DP decides to disclose the records by July 4 or completes a parliamentary vote on the matter by July 13,” Lee and his lawyer said.
Moon was in office when the fisheries official was fatally shot by the North’s military on Sept. 22, 2020, near the inter-Korean sea border in the Yellow Sea, after going missing the previous day while on duty aboard a fishery inspection boat.
The bereaved family has been calling for the disclosure of records on the presidential National Security Council (NSC) meeting held shortly after the death and reports exchanged between the presidential office, related ministries and the spy agency between Sept. 22-28 in 2020.
“(Moon) can be charged with dereliction of duty if he did not save the official when he could have, and abuse of power if he ordered to leave the situation as it is,” the lawyer representing the family said.
DP spokesperson Jo O-seop said that Rep. Woo Sang-ho, the DP’s interim leader, listened closely to what the bereaved family had to say and delivered words of consolation and expressed regret for the matter being politicized.
Jo said the party’s task force will actively discuss and review the family requests.
The task force, headed by Rep. Kim Byung-joo, an Army general-turned-lawmaker, was launched early Monday in an effort to deal with what the DP called an attempt by the ruling People Power Party to distort facts for political purposes.
Source: Yonhap News Agency