MOON CRITICIZES FISHERIES OFFICIAL PROBE

[Anchor Lead]

Ex-President Moon Jae-in has for the first time publicly spoke about the investigation into the shooting death of a South Korean fisheries official by North Korea back in 2020. Moon stressed that it was he himself who received the report and gave the final approval. He criticized that the conclusion had been reversed after a new administration came into power.

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Former defense minister Suh Wook and ex-Coast Guard Commissioner Kim Hong-hui were released as the court ruled on their habeas corpus petitions. The two men had been arrested over the shooting death of a South Korean fisheries official by North Korea. After the prosecution requested an arrest warrant for former national security head Suh Hoon, ex-President Moon Jae-in spoke publicly about the issue for the first time. He said the conclusion that the dead official was trying to defect to the North was reached after the defense ministry, the Coast Guard, and the National Intelligence Service had analyzed all the information and circumstantial evidence. Moon emphasized that it was he who had given the final approval after reviewing special intelligence. He also refuted the stances of the Board of Audit and Inspection and the prosecution. The former president claimed that the conclusion has been reversed after a new government came into power even though all the information and circumstances remain the same. Moon said they claim the findings were fabricated without offering any other explanation for why the dead official was in North Korean waters. He warned them "not to cross the line," claiming that they are acting irresponsibly by trampling on the pride of public officials and incapacitating the national security system.

[Soundbite] Youn Kun-young(Democratic Party) : "These are his thoughts on the prosecution continuing with political retaliation despite the fact that the prosecution has been found to have conducted unreasonable investigation."

The People Power Party countered by saying that is not the truth the dead official's family and the people wanted to hear.

[Soundbite] Yang Kum-hee(PPP Senior Spokesperson) : "He must apologize first for not keeping the promise he made to the dead official's son that he would take care of the case himself."

The Office of the President refrained from making its position public, claiming that the case is still under investigation. The prosecution keeps repeating that former National Security Director Suh Hoon must be arrested since he was the one in charge.