Spy agency to drop complaints against ex-top officials over alleged cover-up of border killing by N. Korea

The National Intelligence Service (NIS) said Monday it will drop complaints against former top security officials following their recent acquittal for involvement in an alleged cover-up of the 2020 murder of a South Korean fisheries official by North Korea. The spy agency said the decision was made after conducting a special audit and inspection of the complaints raised against former National Security Adviser Suh Hoon and former NIS Director Park Jie-won from former President Moon Jae-in's administration. In July 2022, the NIS filed complaints against them under the instruction by then President Yoon Suk Yeol after it conducted an internal audit into the alleged cover-up of the 2020 killing of the South's official by North Korea near the western sea border and the Moon administration's 2019 repatriation of two North Korean fishermen against their will. The NIS said its own inspection carried out after the launch of the Lee Jae Myung administration has found there were problems in "factual and legal aspects" related to details of the complaints. "We sincerely apologize to Suh and Park fo