Prosecution Drops Appeal in 'West Sea Shooting Incident'... Acquittals Finalized for Suh Hoon and Kim Honghee

Both First and Second Trials End in Acquittal
Prosecution Says "Thoroughly Reviewed Possibility of Appeal Being Granted"

The prosecution has decided not to file an appeal with the Supreme Court regarding the appellate court's acquittal verdict for former National Security Office Director Suh Hoon and former Korea Coast Guard Commissioner General Kim Honghee in connection with the West Sea government official shooting incident. As a result, the acquittals of the former director and former commissioner general have been finalized.

Former National Security Office Director Suh Hoon, suspected of favor in the West Sea government official shooting incident, is attending the continuation of the first trial at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul on May 2, 2025. Photo by Kang Jin-Hyung

The Seoul High Prosecutors’ Office announced on June 23 that it would not be appealing the case of Suh and Kim to the Supreme Court.

The prosecution explained, "After thoroughly reviewing the likelihood of the appellate verdict being overturned and consulting with the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office, we decided not to file an appeal."

Previously, on June 16, the Seoul High Court acquitted Suh and Kim—who were charged with falsifying official documents, defamation, and other allegations—upholding the verdict from the first trial.

Suh was indicted on charges including instructing the Korea Coast Guard to distribute a false press release, making it appear as if government official Lee Daejun was still being searched for, while concealing the fact that he had been shot. He was also accused of directing the Coast Guard to prepare and distribute reports and statements suggesting that Lee had voluntarily defected to North Korea. Kim was brought to trial for distributing false information about the possibility of defection under Suh’s instructions.

The West Sea government official shooting incident refers to the case in September 2020, in which Lee Daejun went missing in waters near the West Sea, was discovered by North Korean soldiers, and was subsequently shot dead.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.