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South Korea
AsiaEast Asia

Ex-South Korean defence minister, coastguard chief arrested over official killed by North

  • Suh Wook and Kim Hong-hee are accused of falsifying documents related to the 2020 killing of fisheries official Lee Dae-jun near the rivals’ sea border
  • The opposition Democratic Party claims the investigations are being driven by President Yoon’s political vendetta against his predecessor Moon

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Former South Korean defence minister Suh Wook arrives to attend a review on his arrest warrant at a court in Seoul on October 21. Photo: Yonhap via AP
Associated Press
South Korea’s former defence minister and coastguard chief were arrested on Saturday over their alleged involvement in covering up facts and distorting the circumstances surrounding North Korea’s killing of a Seoul fisheries official in 2020 near the rivals’ tense sea border.
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The arrests came as the government of conservative President Yoon Suk Yeol expands investigations into the 2020 killing and another border incident the year before that prompted criticism that Seoul’s previous liberal administration improperly appeased the North to improve ties.

The Seoul Central District Court said it granted prosecutors’ requests for arrest warrants on former defence minister Suh Wook and ex-coastguard commissioner general Kim Hong-hee because it saw them as threats to destroy evidence or flee.

The opposition liberal Democratic Party, which claims the investigations are being driven by Yoon’s political vendetta against his predecessor Moon Jae-in, accused prosecutors of “manipulating the truth” to support Yoon’s “political crackdown.”

It also criticised the separate arrest on Saturday of Kim Yong, a close confidante of current party leader Lee Jae-myung, over suspicions that he raised illegal campaign funds to help finance Lee’s presidential bid before his loss to Yoon in the vote in March.

“Since it’s a court decision, we respect it. But warrants aren’t the final judgement. The final truth will be revealed during the court trials,” Democratic Party spokesperson Kim Eui-kyum said in a statement. He insisted that the investigations will eventually target Moon and Lee.

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The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office had been investigating Suh and Kim for suspected abuse of power and falsifying documents related to the 2020 case. It said Suh faces an additional allegation of destroying records.

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North Korean defectors shown dragged back across the border from South Korea

North Korean defectors shown dragged back across the border from South Korea
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