Top military officer interrogated in 2019 for seizing North Korean boat

Then Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Park Han-ki speaks during a hearing at the National Assembly in Seoul, in this Oct. 8, 2019, file photo. Park, who served as the top military officer during the previous administration, was interrogated in 2019 in an unprecedented case after seizing a suspicious North Korean boat despite an instruction to "drive out" non-military boats instead of capturing them. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

Ruling party to launch team to investigate security breaches under Moon

By Jung Min-ho

One of the top military officials under the previous Moon Jae-in administration was quizzed for hours in an unprecedented case three years ago, after seizing a suspicious North Korean boat despite an instruction to "drive out" non-military boats instead of capturing them.

According to military sources and media reports, Tuesday, Park Han-ki, who was chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) from October 2018 to September 2020, was questioned by Moon's aides over the seizure of the boat on July 27, 2019. He made the decision after the boat had crossed the Northern Limit Line (NLL) ― the de facto maritime boundary between South and North Korea ― despite the National Security Council's (NSC) instruction to return such boats to the North. Whether it was a non-military boat is unclear.

This is the latest disclosure that shows the conciliatory North Korea policy of the former leader, who was extremely cautious of offending the North Korean ruling elite even in the case of border protection.

"Such a thing never happened before. As far as I can tell, there was no JCS chairman who was questioned like that (for doing his job)," a source from the Ministry of National Defense told The Korea Times.

The event occurred at a time when Moon was pondering how to make a breakthrough in inter-Korean relations after the February 2019 Washington-Pyongyang summit in Vietnam made little progress.

The people on the boat, which entered South Korea's territorial waters at 11:21 p.m., were questioned by the military and released on July 29, after an investigation concluded that they did not cross the line deliberately and had no intention of defecting to the South.

Military sources contacted by The Korea Times refused to give details of the incident. But the basic rules in the event of a North Korean boat crossing the NLL is to give a warning and tell the captain to return; if the person refuses to comply, the military should seize the vessel. Judging by these rules, the boat may have not followed the instruction to leave.

Park had a reputation as a defiant officer who often clashed with the previous government's policy line. After North Korea destroyed its Punggye-ri test site for nuclear weapons in 2018 to show its commitment to denuclearization, he commented that it could be restored and reconstructed within weeks or months, contrasting jarringly with the government's position that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was sincere and willing to give up his nuclear arsenal under the right conditions.

Kim You-geun, a former deputy chief of the National Security Office and NSC member, is accused of having issued the instruction. It is unclear whether Moon, then NSC chairman and commander-in-chief, was involved. Park reportedly said during the interrogation that he exercised his legitimate authority and that he was not obligated to follow the NSC's instruction unless it was a direct order from the defense minister or the president.

Following the revelations, the ruling People Power Party (PPP) announced that it will launch a task force dedicated to investigating serious breaches of national security in the previous administration.

PPP floor leader Rep. Kweon Seong-dong told reporters he will expand the effort to uncover the facts, accusing the former NSC members of having "shamed" Park for doing what was necessary as a military commander.

"It appears that Park was interrogated for disobeying Kim's instruction, not the minister's or the president's, which disrupted the military hierarchy system," Kweon said.

Asked whether an order from the NSC should be considered a presidential order, he said it would be investigators' job to find out whether Moon made that order.

Site Map E-paper Subscribe Register LogIn
Site Map E-paper Subscribe Register LogIn