President Moon Jae-in on Tuesday offered his condolences to the son of the civil servant killed by North Korean soldiers in response to the son’s letter addressed to the president.

“I understand the sentiments of a son who has lost his father. My heart also aches,” Moon was quoted as saying by Cheong Wa Dae spokesperson Kang Min-seok.

“As the Coast Guard is investigating the situation, let’s wait for the results of the Coast Guard’s investigation and search. I send my condolences, and I hope (for the civil servant’s son) to overcome difficulties with (his) mother and sister.”

The civil servant went missing last month in the West Sea, and the South Korean military reported that they have intelligence that the man was shot and killed by North Koreans. The South’s military also said that the civil servant’s body appears to have been burnt by North Korean soldiers.

The Coast Guard launched an investigation, and has announced preliminary findings saying that the civil servant is likely to have attempted to defect to the North, citing the fact that the civil servant moved against the current and military intelligence showing that the North Koreans had personal information about him.

Moon’s comments come a day after it was reported that the civil servant’s son wrote a letter urging the president to clear his father’s name.

The son, a high school student, called on the president to review the results of the investigation, saying that the Coast Guard’s claims are illogical.

“I want to ask if you think that it makes sense to say that my father swam 38 kilometers against the current when he has never learned swimming professionally, with his thin frame of 68 kilograms and with a height of 180 centimeters,” the son wrote in a letter released by the civil servant’s elder brother Lee Rae-jin.

“Who would not provide personal information when asked by armed North Korean soldiers,” the letter goes on to say, adding that he and his family have not seen any evidence to support the government’s claims.

The civil servant’s son also asked Moon if his actions would change if it was the president’s family was involved in such a situation.

“I want to ask who made this situation where we can’t even find the body; what the country was doing when my father was being killed; and why he could not be protected.”

By Choi He-suk (cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)