'West Sea shooting incident' Suh Hoon attends the final trial. Yonhap News. 

Prosecutors requested a four-year prison sentence for Suh Hoon, former Chief of the National Security Office of the Blue House, who is on trial for allegedly attempting to conceal the incident in which a public official was shot in the West Sea in September 2020.

The prosecution made this request on the 5th during the final hearing at the Seoul Central District Court's Criminal Division 25 (Presiding Judge Ji Gwi-yeon) for charges including abuse of power and fabrication and use of false official documents against the former presidential aide.

A two-year prison sentence and a two-year suspension of qualifications were requested for Park Jie-won, former Director of the National Intelligence Service, and a three-year prison sentence for Seo Wook, former Minister of National Defense.

The prosecution stated, "The defendants, who were high-ranking public officials, abused public power to hide their mistakes, deleted electronic public records, and then falsely branded the citizen who was shot and cremated as having defected to North Korea," adding, "This is a grave crime that deceived the public and socially buried the bereaved family."

Specifically, regarding former aide Suh, the prosecution pointed out, "He failed to take any response measures despite being in charge of the command and control center during a national crisis situation," and stated, "As the person who planned and led the concealment of the shooting and cremation, knowing these facts, his responsibility as the final decision-maker in this incident is heavy."

'West Sea shooting incident' Park Jie-won attends the final trial. Yonhap News.

Regarding former Director Park, the prosecution noted, "As the head of an intelligence agency responsible for collecting information on North Korea, he actively participated in the security office's concealment plan."

Concerning former Minister Seo, the prosecution stated, "As the person responsible for military command and supervision, he received a report from the Joint Chiefs of Staff that our citizen had been found, but did not take necessary measures for rescue."

In addition, the prosecution requested three-year prison sentences for Kim Hong-hee, former Commissioner of the Korean Coast Guard, and a one-year prison sentence with a one-year suspension of qualifications for Noh Eun-chae, former secretary of the NIS Director.

'West Sea shooting incident' Seo Wook attends the final trial. Yonhap News. 

Lee Rae-jin, the elder brother of the deceased public official Lee Dae-jun, who was shot and killed, was present in the courtroom.

Lee stated, "Former President Moon Jae-in claimed in a public announcement that he could not request rescue and repatriation due to a lack of communication channels with North Korea, but as President and Commander-in-Chief, wasn't that an irresponsible and incompetent deception of the public?"

He continued, "While immense manipulation and murder were occurring, the state, security agencies, and investigative bodies failed to protect the public, and to witness North Korea's killing process is a severe error for a public official."

In their closing arguments, the defense attorneys denied the charges and requested leniency.

Suh's defense team argued, "The order for maintaining security is natural. In typically security-related agencies, 'maintaining security' is a constant mantra," adding, "If they had intended to conceal it, there would have been no reason to inform the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries and the Coast Guard."

They further asserted, "The investigation into this case was ultimately planned with political motives, and it is evident that the conclusion was predetermined from the beginning," and requested, "The charges cannot be constituted and cannot be proven. We request a not-guilty verdict."

Regarding the charge of fabricating false materials about a defecting public official, Kim's defense team stated, "It was not simply a judgment of defection, but rather a decision made based on certain facts, which should be seen as an expression of opinion," adding, "For the defection judgment to be deemed false, it would need to be proven without reasonable doubt that it was not a defection, which has not been demonstrated by the evidence presented by the prosecution."

Seo's defense team also requested a not-guilty verdict.

Seo's defense team stated, "At the time, the defendant instructed to maintain security on sensitive SI (Special Handling Information) and to confirm the presumed defection of the West Sea public official based on the acquired information while awaiting the final conclusion through an investigation. These were the only two instructions given," and added, "Throughout the three years of the trial, the appropriateness of the defection judgment has been the point of contention, but this is not subject to our country's criminal justice system."

Park's defense team emphasized, "When considering the intelligence indicating Lee Dae-jun's voluntary intention to defect and the fact that he was wearing a life jacket with Korean characters on it, there is sufficient basis to acknowledge voluntary defection," and stressed, "The prosecutor's indictment is an unreasonable assertion that contradicts objective facts supported by intelligence, by claiming the 'forced defection' as its premise. It deserves criticism."

Lee Rae-jin, the elder brother of the public official killed in the West Sea incident, addresses reporters at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on the 5th, before the start of the final trial for alleged concealment of the 'West Sea shooting incident and forced defection' involving Seo Wook, former Minister of National Defense, Suh Hoon, former Chief of the National Security Office, and Park Jie-won, former Director of the National Intelligence Service. Yonhap News. 

Noh's defense team requested a suspended sentence, stating, "The defendant merely relayed information received from superiors in the course of duty and did not possess the authority to halt their actions," and requested leniency in the form of a fine.

Suh is accused of ordering relevant officials from the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the former Coast Guard Commissioner to 'maintain security' at a meeting of related ministers around 1 a.m. on September 23, 2020, the day after Lee Dae-jun was shot and killed by North Korean soldiers, in an attempt to conceal the shooting.

He is also accused of instructing the Coast Guard to falsely distribute press releases indicating they were searching for Lee, while hiding the fact of the shooting, and of having the Ministry of National Defense and the Coast Guard prepare and distribute reports and briefing materials for the purpose of 'fabricating defection.'

Kim was indicted for distributing false materials regarding the possibility of defection in accordance with these instructions.

Park and Seo, as well as Noh, were also indicted for ordering National Intelligence Service and Ministry of National Defense personnel to delete related intelligence and documents, agreeing with the 'maintain security' policy.

Seo is also charged with fabricating and distributing reports and false briefing materials suggesting that Lee had voluntarily defected.

Yonhap News