Prosecutors have decided not to appeal the acquittals of Suh Hoon, former director of the National Security Office, and Kim Hong-hee, former commissioner of the Coast Guard, who were charged with distributing false press releases related to the West Sea shooting incident.
On June 23, the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office announced that it would not pursue a Supreme Court appeal against the two officials, who faced charges of creating and distributing false official documents.
The prosecutors stated, "After carefully reviewing the possibility of an appeal against the second trial's ruling and consulting with the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, we have decided not to file an appeal." As a result, the acquittals of both individuals have been finalized.
In 2020, during the Moon Jae-in administration, a Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries official, Lee Dae-jun, went missing near Yeonpyeong Island. He was later reported to have been shot by North Korean forces approximately 38 kilometers north of the Northern Limit Line in Gangryeong-gun, Hwanghae-namdo. At that time, the government concluded, based on the opinions of the Coast Guard and the Ministry of National Defense, that Lee had attempted to defect to North Korea.
However, in June 2022, after the Yoon Suk-yeol administration took office, both the Coast Guard and the Ministry of National Defense reversed their stance, stating that there was no evidence to support the claim of an attempted defection. Subsequently, prosecutors charged Suh and Kim with creating and distributing false documents and defaming Lee's memory.
Suh was accused of directing the distribution of false press releases that concealed the fact that Lee had been shot by North Korean forces and manipulated the narrative to suggest he had defected. Kim was charged with distributing the false information.
However, both the first and second trial courts found them not guilty.
On June 16, the appellate court ruled in favor of the defendants, stating, "While there may have been some hasty or exaggerated expressions in the announcement of the Coast Guard's investigation results, it is difficult to evaluate this as the dissemination of false information intended to undermine public trust or the creation of false official documents."
Earlier, former National Intelligence Service Director Park Ji-won and former Minister of National Defense Seo Wook, who were also acquitted in the first trial, had their acquittals confirmed without appeal from prosecutors.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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