Second trial ruling due for ex-officials in West Sea shooting concealment case

A Seoul court will deliver its second-instance ruling on Tuesday for former National Security Advisor Suh Hoon and former Maritime Police Commissioner Kim Hong-hee. They are accused of concealing facts surrounding the 2020 shooting death of a South Korean fisheries official by North Korean forces in the West Sea.

Prosecutors had previously requested prison sentences for the officials during the final hearing last month. They asked for 1 year and 6 months for Suh and 2 years for Kim, who are charged with creating and using false official documents, defamation, and posthumous defamation.

The incident involved the killing of Lee Mo, a public official from the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, near Yeonpyeong Island in September 2020. The case was brought to trial after the National Intelligence Service, under the direction of then-President Yoon Suk-yeol, filed a complaint.

Prosecutors suspected that the Moon Jae-in administration downplayed and concealed the facts of the killing. This led to the indictment of Suh, Kim, former Unification Minister Cho Myung-gyun, former Defense Minister Suh Wook, and former NIS secretary Noh Eun-chae. However, the first trial acquitted all five defendants.