Appeals court upholds acquittals of former officials accused of cover-up in 2020 NK border murder case

“An appellate court on Tuesday upheld acquittals of a former senior presidential official and a former Coast Guard chief over an alleged cover-up of the 2020 murder of a South Korean fisheries official by North Korea. The Seoul High Court found former National Security Adviser Suh Hoon and former Coast Guard Commissioner General Kim Hong-hee not guilty on charges of drafting false public documents in connection with the alleged cover-up. In September 2020, the fisheries official, Lee Dae-jun, was fatally shot by North Korean troops near the de facto maritime border in the Yellow Sea after going missing while on board a fishery inspection ship. His body was later burned by North Korean soldiers. At the time, then President Moon Jae-in's administration said Lee had sought to defect to the North, but prosecutors have argued the announcement was driven by concerns the incident could worsen inter-Korean relations. In its ruling, the appellate court said that while the Moon administration's announcement contained "rash" or "definitive" language, it could not be seen as drafting or distributing

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