A South Korean Coast Guard vessel in the Yellow Sea on April 28, 2022 | Image: NK News
On Sept. 22, 2020, North Korea shot and killed a South Korean fisheries official who ended up in DPRK waters. Last Friday, nearly two years after the incident, a South Korean court officially declared the man dead.
The belated ruling paves the way for the family of Lee Dae-jun to pursue legal action against former Moon Jae-in government officials and North Korea for what they call the murder of the late public official.
“My brother used to be a ‘missing’ person until last week, but now he is officially deceased,” Lee Rae-jin, the victim’s brother, explained
On Sept. 22, 2020, North Korea shot and killed a South Korean fisheries official who ended up in DPRK waters. Last Friday, nearly two years after the incident, a South Korean court officially declared the man dead.
The belated ruling paves the way for the family of Lee Dae-jun to pursue legal action against former Moon Jae-in government officials and North Korea for what they call the murder of the late public official.
Jeongmin Kim is a Lead Correspondent at NK News, based in Seoul. Kim covers inter-Korean and DPRK-related foreign, defense and humanitarian affairs, and has covered the 2022 ROK Presidential election on the ground. Prior to joining NK News, she worked for the CSIS Korea Chair in Washington D.C. and Reuters news agency's Seoul bureau. Follow her on Twitter @jeongminnkim