South Korea on Saturday arrested a former national security chief on suspicion of covering up events surrounding the 2020 murder of a fisheries official by Pyongyang.
\nPresident Yoon Suk-yeol is expanding an inquiry into the highly politicised case following accusations that his predecessor mishandled the probe to curry favour with North Korea.
\nSuh Hoon is the first top official from the presidential office of former leader Moon Jae-in to be arrested over the case.
\nHe is accused of ordering that intelligence reports be destroyed to conceal the killing of fisheries official Lee Dae-jun, who died near the sea border separating North and South Korea.
\nThe former top security official also faces allegations that he manipulated evidence to support the Moon government\u2019s controversial claim that the late fisheries official had sought to defect to the North.
\nJudge Kim Jeong-min of the Seoul Central District Court issued an arrest warrant for Suh on Saturday, citing \u201cthe seriousness of the crime, the status of the suspect, and a risk of destroying evidence\u201d.
\nA spokesperson for President Yoon\u2019s People Power Party confirmed the arrest in a statement.
\n\u201cSuh Hoon, former chief of the Blue House\u2019s National Security Office, was arrested early this morning,\u201d Park Jung-ha said.
\nIn October ex-defence minister Suh Wook and former coast guard chief Kim Hong-hee were also arrested over the same case.
\nPresident Yoon has been sharply critical of his predecessor\u2019s dovish approach towards North Korea, accusing Moon of appeasing Pyongyang.
\nYoon\u2019s People Power Party on Saturday accused Suh of \u201cfailing to protect\u201d and \u201cneglecting\u201d the late fisheries official while security chief.
\nBut the country\u2019s opposition has long claimed the investigation is \u201cpolitical revenge\u201d against Moon\u2019s administration.
\nOn Saturday they said Suh\u2019s arrest was \u201chard to understand\u201d and they would \u201cdefend the truth and justice\u201d against Yoon\u2019s \u201cpolitical retaliation\u201d.
\nDebts and gambling
\nFisheries official Lee was shot dead and set on fire by North Korean soldiers near the rivals\u2019 sea border. Moon\u2019s government at the time said an initial probe by the coast guard suggested Lee had tried to defect to the North, citing family problems and debts from gambling.
\nBut Lee\u2019s brother has repeatedly slammed that idea, saying Lee would never have chosen a life in North Korea.
\nYoon has also reopened inquiries into another explosive murder case in which two North Korean fishermen who confessed to killing 16 crewmates at sea were deported back to Pyongyang in 2019.
\nRights groups have said the transfer of the suspects back to the North was a violation of international law because of the likelihood of the men being tortured or worse.
\nAs president, Moon championed engagement with Pyongyang, meeting North Korea\u2019s leader Kim Jong Un and then-US president Donald Trump for talks. But his diplomacy ultimately failed, with the North now more belligerent than ever.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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