President Yoon has been sharply critical of his predecessor’s dovish approach towards North Korea, accusing Moon of appeasing Pyongyang.
Yoon’s People Power Party on Saturday accused Suh of “failing to protect” and “neglecting” the late fisheries official while security chief.
But the country’s opposition has long claimed the investigation is “political revenge” against Moon’s administration.
On Saturday they said Suh’s arrest was “hard to understand” and they would “defend the truth and justice” against Yoon’s “political retaliation”.
DEBTS AND GAMBLING
Fisheries official Lee was shot dead and set on fire by North Korean soldiers near the rivals’ sea border.
Moon’s government at the time said an initial probe by the coast guard suggested Lee had tried to defect to the North, citing family problems and debts from gambling.
But Lee’s brother has repeatedly slammed that idea, saying Lee would never have chosen a life in North Korea.
Yoon has also reopened inquiries into another explosive murder case in which two North Korean fishermen who confessed to killing 16 crewmates at sea were deported back to Pyongyang in 2019.
Rights groups have said the transfer of the suspects back to the North was a violation of international law because of the likelihood of the men being tortured or worse.
As president, Moon championed engagement with Pyongyang, meeting North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un and then-US president Donald Trump for talks.
But his diplomacy ultimately failed, with the North now more belligerent than ever.
Source: CNA
