South Korea’s ex security adviser arrests over border killing ‘cover-up’

• Suh Hoon denies destroying evidence that helped explain why Lee Dae-jun was shot dead at sea.
• He is suspected of directing the destruction of intelligence records pertaining to Lee’s murder.
• Current administration accuses outgoing administration of attempting to win over North Korea while it was working to improve relations.

An ex-national security adviser for South Korea has been detained on suspicion of covering up the death of a fisheries official by North Korean forces.

Suh Hoon denies destroying the proof that helped to explain why Lee Dae-jun was shot dead at sea in 2020.

He was reportedly killed while attempting to flee to North Korea due to gambling debts and other personal problems at the time.

However, according to the prosecution and his family, there is scant proof of this.

A political debate has been ignited by the case. The current administration accuses the outgoing administration of attempting to win over North Korea while it was working to improve relations.

When Lee, a 47-year-old father of two, vanished in September 2020, the South Korean defense ministry reported that he was on a patrol boat about 10 km (6 miles) from the North Korean border, close to the island of Yeonpyeong.

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According to Seoul, Lee had left his shoes on the boat and was discovered wearing a life jacket by a North Korean patrol boat. Lee was interrogated before being shot dead in the water a short time later, according to Seoul.

The South said that after burning the corpse at sea, North Korean soldiers may have done so as a preventative precaution against the coronavirus. Regarding the incident, Pyongyang made no remarks.

Lee was believed to have been slain while attempting to flee, however this was later disputed by President Yoon Suk-yeol, who succeeded President Moon Jae-in this year.

After learning that Lee was drifting in waters close to the Koreas’ borders, Mr. Moon’s administration failed to make any significant efforts to save him, according to a prior investigation by South Korea’s Board of Audit and Inspection.

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The Lee family claimed that Mr. Moon’s administration did not go far enough to save Mr. Lee’s life.

Mr. Suh is suspected of directing the destruction of intelligence records pertaining to Lee’s murder and distorting the evidence to bolster the defection story. He claims that the current administration is taking political revenge.

Mr. Moon, whose efforts to improve ties with the North were unsuccessful, accused the current administration of making false charges.

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