Cheonan warship families urge Moon to announce that N. Korea was behind it

After the Presidential Truth Commission on Deaths in the Military triggered a controversy by retracting their decision to reinvestigate the deadly sinking of the Cheonan, surviving crew and bereaved family members protested to the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae on Tuesday. “We can’t provide more details on this as we haven’t been notified,” said a Cheong Wa Dae insider in a press briefing. 　

Choi Won-il, the then-captain of the Cheonan, Lee Seong-woo, head of the bereaved family group, and Min Gwang-gi, who is a brother of a victim Min Pyeong-gi, visited Cheong Wa Dae to meet with President Moon Jae-in, but they were only able to meet an executive official from the Civil Society Council. Bereaved family members visited the the Presidential Truth Commission on Deaths in the Military and the Ministry of National Defense in turn on Monday to protest. 　

They have demanded a meeting with President Moon and asked him to officially announce that the shelling of the Cheonan was done by North Korea. They also demanded an official apology from Cheong Wa Dae for retracting the reinvestigation decision and to punish those who are responsible including commission head Lee In-ram after probing into the details of the decision. 　

“Cheong Wa Dae cannot intervene in this matter as the commission is an independent organization,” said Cheong Wa Dae. “We are only monitoring media reports on this, not receiving briefings or investigating internally.”


Kyu-Jin Shin newjin@donga.com