Human Rights
South Korean accuses own govt. of lying about husband's death to appease North
The administration of former president Moon Jae-in said that Lee had died trying to defect to the North to avoid repaying large debts, reports The Times of London
June 21, 2022 9:02am
Updated: June 21, 2022 10:10am
The widow of a South Korean government official killed in North Korean waters in 2020 has accused the previous administration about lying about his death to soothe diplomatic relations with Kim Jong-un and plans to sue.
Lee Dae-jun, a government fisheries officer, was shot and killed by North Korean soldiers after he fell off a South Korean government ship close to the maritime border between the two countries and floated north.
The administration of former president Moon Jae-in said that Lee had died trying to defect to the North to avoid repaying large debts, reports The Times of London.
North Korean leader Kim Jon-un issued a rare apology, saying Lee was shot at a range of 50 yards and his life vest burned over fears he was carrying COVID-19.
But the country’s coast guard and Ministry of Defense apologized on June 16, saying there was “no evidence” that Lee tried to defect to North Korea.
His widow, Kwon Young-mi came forward and identified herself with the support of newly elected president, Yoon Suk-yeol, saying the previous administration was “continuously pushing the defection narrative” to “egg on their supporters.”
Moon, who born to North Korean refugees, was a supporter of peaceful reunification with the North, while the conservative Yoon vowed to take a harder line on Pyongyang during his campaign.
This resulted in Lee’s surviving family being abused online for being “a wife or children of a traitor,” Kwon told The Korea Herald on Monday.
“Surely Democratic Party lawmakers understand what it means to be branded a defector in this country. All South Koreans know the gravity of that label and the stigma associated with it,” she said.
Rep. Youn Kun-young, who served as Moon’s state affairs monitoring director, rejected the military’s reversal of their previous findings and accused the new conservative government of a “strategic attempt” to smear the last administration as pro-North Korea.
“We said the official appeared to have tried to defect to North Korea from a comprehensive investigation,” Youn told the Korea Herald, standing by the original conclusion.
