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| ▲ Prime Minister Han Duck-soo (R) speaks at a meeting with reporters in Montevideo on Oct. 13, 2022. (Yonhap) |
PM-state auditor
PM defends state auditor's inspection into slain official
MONTEVIDEO, Oct. 13 (Yonhap) -- Prime Minister Han Duck-soo on Thursday defended the state auditor's inspection into the killing of a South Korean fisheries official by North Korea near the western sea border in 2020, saying the nation must take action if there is a clear violation of law.
Han, who is on a three-nation trip to Latin America, made the remarks after the Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) announced the result of its two-month inspection into the previous Moon Jae-in government's handling of the death of the 47-year-old official.
The BAI requested the prosecution investigate 20 people from five government agencies involved in the case on charges that include dereliction of duty, abuse of power and the creation of false official documents.
"If it is clear that there is a violation of law, the nation should do what it has to do," Han told reporters who are accompanying him.
The main opposition Democratic Party (DP) has expressed outrage over the inspection, claiming it is aimed at hurting Moon's legacy amid President Yoon Suk-yeol's low approval ratings.
The killing of the fisheries official has become a political hot potato since the Yoon government in June found no evidence that the official intended to defect to the North at the time of his death, reversing the assessment of its predecessor.
Among the 20 people who were referred to prosecutors are former National Security Adviser Suh Hoon, former National Intelligence Service chief Park Jie-won and former Defense Minister Suh Wook, sources said.
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