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| ▲ This photo, provided by the National Intelligence Service, shows the headquarters of the South Korean spy agency. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
spy agency-border killing
Spy agency to drop complaints against ex-top officials over alleged cover-up of border killing by N. Korea
SEOUL, Dec. 29 (Yonhap) -- The National Intelligence Service (NIS) said Monday it will drop complaints against former top security officials following their recent acquittal for involvement in an alleged cover-up of the 2020 murder of a South Korean fisheries official by North Korea.
The spy agency said the decision was made after conducting a special audit and inspection of the complaints raised against former National Security Adviser Suh Hoon and former NIS Director Park Jie-won from former President Moon Jae-in's administration.
In July 2022, the NIS filed complaints against them under the instruction by then President Yoon Suk Yeol after it conducted an internal audit into the alleged cover-up of the 2020 killing of the South's official by North Korea near the western sea border and the Moon administration's 2019 repatriation of two North Korean fishermen against their will.
The NIS said its own inspection carried out after the launch of the Lee Jae Myung administration has found there were problems in "factual and legal aspects" related to details of the complaints.
"We sincerely apologize to Suh and Park for causing suffering due to undue complaints and to the people," the agency said, saying it will be "prudent" in filing a complaint and exercising its public authority.
Earlier this month, a Seoul court found Suh, Park and former Defense Minister Suh-wook not guilty of allegedly trying to cover up the 2020 incident, citing a lack of evidence.
The case goes back to Sept. 22, 2020, when the fisheries official, Lee Dae-jun, was fatally shot by North Korean soldiers near the de facto maritime border in the Yellow Sea, a day after going missing while on board a fishery inspection ship. His body was burned by the North.
In 2019, the Moon government sent back two North Korean fishermen captured near the eastern sea border despite their wish to defect to South Korea. The forced repatriation came after they confessed to killing 16 fellow crew members.
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