Acquittals Confirmed for Suh Hoon and Kim Hong-hee in 'West Sea Shooting' Case as Prosecution Drops Appeal

The prosecution has decided not to appeal the acquittals of former Blue House National Security Office Director Suh Hoon and former Korea Coast Guard Commissioner General Kim Hong-hee, who were found not guilty in both the first and second trials regarding the West Sea public official shooting incident.

The Seoul High Prosecutors' Office announced today (June 23) that it would not file an appeal to the Supreme Court regarding former Director Suh and former Commissioner General Kim.

The prosecution explained, "After a thorough review of the possibility of the Supreme Court accepting an appeal against the second-instance ruling and consultation with the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, we decided not to file an appeal."

Previously, on the 16th, the Seoul High Court upheld the first-instance ruling, acquitting both former Director Suh and former Commissioner General Kim, who were charged with drafting and using false official documents and defamation.

Former Director Suh was accused of having the Coast Guard distribute false press releases stating that search operations were underway while concealing the fact that public official Lee Dae-jun had been shot.

He was also indicted on charges of ordering the Coast Guard to draft and distribute reports and announcement materials intended to fabricate the narrative that Lee had voluntarily defected to North Korea.

Former Commissioner General Kim was brought to trial on charges of distributing false materials regarding the possibility of a voluntary defection in accordance with those instructions.

The West Sea public official shooting incident refers to the case in September 2020 when Lee Dae-jun went missing in waters near the West Sea, was discovered by North Korean troops, and was subsequently shot and killed.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.