Unification minister Kwon Young-se has replied to a letter he received from the brother of a fisheries ministry official who was fatally shot in 2020 by a North Korean soldier in the West Sea.

In the reply sent to the brother of the deceased official, Lee Dae-jun, last Thursday, Kwon promised to uncover the truth about the incident and ensure a similar incident does not happen again.

He also said the government was doing its best to keep its promise, referring to an earlier pledge by President Yoon Suk Yeol when he received a letter from the late official's son.

Mentioning the 2019 deportation of two North Korean fishermen who sought to defect to the South, Kwon said the government will improve laws and systems related to the protection and repatriation of North Korean citizens.

Lee’s brother wrote a letter to Kwon on July 18 expressing anger over the apparent inaction by the previous Moon Jae-in government, its handling of his brother's death and the repatriation of the fishermen, calling for President Moon and then chief of the intelligence agency to be deported to the North.