Equivocating a Killing

More Allegations of Coverup at the Blue House

In a fresh allegation over the Blue House shooting incident last year, a security service official said Friday that the commanding officer who killed his subordinate testified that he shot the guard while the two men were arguing.

The official, who asked that his name not be used, said that he conducted the initial investigation into the incident immediately after it happened at a guard post about 100 meters from the president's residence.

He said that while he made no record of the investigation, other people were present during the questioning of possible witnesses.

He said that when he looked at the police report later, it had been altered to make it appear as though the incident was an accident.

He did not know whether the Presidential Security Service or the National Police Agency had a hand in changing the story.

What is also still not clear is why the police announced a day after the shooting that it took place outside Blue House, when the 101st police division, which is in charge of security at the Blue House, reported to the Seoul police that a guard had been killed at a post within the presidential residence.

Kim Yeong-hwa, a Seoul police director, said that his comments about the location of the shooting were based on the report from the 101st division.

A suit filed last March by the family of the dead policeman contains testimony from the dead man's commanding officer, who said he put his gun into his subordinate's mouth. He further said that while in jail he down-played his crime and exaggerated the dead man's faults.

He added that he wanted to correct his mistake and asked for forgiveness.

However, the commanding officer said Friday that he made those comments only at the request of the victim's family, who were applying for a pension payment.

by Park Sung-woo