South Korea: Prosecutors launch investigations into two former intelligence heads accused of abuse of power

This week, South Korean prosecutors opened an investigation on the conduct of former intelligence directors. The probe follows a complaint filed by the country’s intelligence agency alleging that the former directors abused their positions under the administration of Moon Jae-in.

Prosecutors in South Korea Thursday launched an investigation into two former directors of the country’s National Intelligence Service, Suh Hoon and Park Jie-won. The announcement of the probe came a day after the NIS filed criminal complaints against Suh and Park regarding cases linked to North Korea.

The prosecutors said that they plan on investigating the cases separately, but what they find may damage the former president’s reputation.

The NIS accused Park, who served as its director from 2020 until May 2022, of destroying important intelligence documents related to the September 2020 shooting of an employee of the South Korean fisheries ministry by the North Korean coast guard.

It was also revealed at the time that the North Koreans set the body on fire in an attempt to conceal his death.

In the criminal complaint against Suh, who led the agency from 2017 to 2020, the former director closed an investigation into two North Korean fishers who wanted to defect to South Korea in 2019 but were brought back to North Korea.

The two men were accused of killing 16 of their colleagues on their fishing vessel, but they did not stand trial for their crime, resulting in their deportation back to North Korea, where they would have faced execution.

Suh allegedly cut down the timeframe for a defector’s case to less than a week from the usual 15 to 30 days.

Previously, President Yoon Suk-yeol warned that the South Korean military would issue a stern response should North Korea make provocations that could further fuel tensions in the region.

Yoon presided over a meeting with top military officials and called to strengthen capabilities to deter the nuclear and missile programs of Pyongyang.

“President Yoon said strong defense capabilities should be ready to protect the country’s security and national interest as the security uncertainties surrounding South Korea and Northeast Asia are growing more than ever,” said the presidential office.