Son of civil servant killed in West Sea drops lawsuit against Korea Coast Guard

The son of the late Lee Dae-jun, a Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries civil servant shot and killed by North Korean forces in the West Sea in 2020, has withdrawn a damages lawsuit he filed against former Korea Coast Guard Commissioner Kim Hong-hee and others.

According to legal sources, the son submitted a withdrawal notice to Judge Im Bok-gyu of the Seoul Central District Court's Civil Division 1005 on July 13 — nearly five years after the lawsuit was first filed.

The family's legal representative said the decision was made because the lawsuit was expected to yield no benefit, given that acquittals in the related criminal cases would inevitably affect its prospects.

The son had filed the lawsuit in July 2021, demanding an apology from the Korea Coast Guard after the National Human Rights Commission of Korea ruled that the agency's investigative announcements had violated the family's rights.

The commission found that the coast guard's disclosure of Lee's personal financial information — including his debt situation — had infringed on the family's dignity and reputation, and recommended disciplinary warnings against two officials, including the head of the investigative intelligence bureau.

The amount the son sought from former Commissioner Kim and the two officials was 20.2 million won ($13,800) — a figure chosen to commemorate the date Lee died, Sept. 22, 2020.

The family's representative had previously said the lawsuit would be dropped if the coast guard apologized, but the son ultimately withdrew the suit without receiving any such apology.

After the first hearing in February 2022, the case was referred to mediation, which fell through in August of that year. Proceedings were then delayed for years while the court awaited the outcome of a separate criminal case against former Commissioner Kim on charges including the fabrication and use of false official documents and defamation.

Kim had been indicted on charges including distributing false materials suggesting Lee may have defected to North Korea, but was acquitted at both the first trial and on appeal. Prosecutors subsequently dropped their further appeal, making the acquittal final.

All other defendants tried alongside Kim — former presidential national security adviser Suh Hoon, former National Intelligence Service Director Park Jie-won, former Defense Minister Seo Wook and former NIS chief of staff Noh Eun-chae — were also acquitted, with their verdicts finalized as well.