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| Lee Rae-jin, left, the elder brother of Lee Dae-joon, a fisheries ministry official shot to death by North Korean soldiers while drifting in waters in the West Sea in September 2020, speaks during a meeting arranged by the ruling People Power Party at the National Assembly in Seoul, June 24. Yonhap |
The brother of a fisheries official killed by North Korea in 2020 claimed Wednesday the then ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) offered to give the family financial compensation if they acknowledged his brother attempted to defect to the North.
After President Yoo Suk-yeol took office last month, the Coast Guard and the defense ministry revisited the case and overturned their previous conclusion on the alleged defection attempt of the late fisheries official Lee Dae-jin. He was shot and killed by North Korea's military near the western sea border, Sept. 22, 2020.
"The DPK had told me they would give us compensation if we acknowledged the defection," Lee Rae-jin said on Facebook. "But I rejected it flatly and told them my brother did not (try to) defect. I do not need that money, and I will restore my brother's honor and reveal the truth."
The late official's family has demanded access to classified presidential documents to determine why the previous Moon Jae-in government announced, without sufficient evidence, that their loved one was shot and killed while attempting to defect to the North.
The Presidential Archive has rejected the family's demand for access to classified documents.
Presidential documents are sealed for up to 30 years from the end of presidencies, with a legal exception for their disclosure if they are considered vital evidence in an investigation. The documents can be opened upon National Assembly approval from two-thirds of lawmakers or a warrant issued by a high court in the jurisdiction. (Yonhap)
