President Moon Jae-in applauds special warfare troops during a ceremony to mark the 72nd Armed Forces Day at the Special Warfare Command in Icheon, Friday. The anniversary falls on Oct. 1. / Yonhap

By Kang Seung-woo

A belated report on the killing of a South Korean by North Korean soldiers to President Moon Jae-in is placing him in an unexpected situation, similar to that faced by his disgraced predecessor Park Geun-hye after the 2014 sinking of the Sewol ferry, with the opposition side stepping up criticism of the President.

According to the Ministry of National Defense, Thursday, the 47-year-old South Korean official from the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries went missing while on duty aboard an inspection vessel in waters off the western border island of Yeonpyeong, Monday. The South Korean was found drifting in North Korean waters by a North Korean vessel at around 3:30 p.m., Tuesday, was shot dead at 9:40 p.m. and his body was burned at 10:10 p.m., according to the South Korean military and intelligence agency. They claimed the South Korean official may have tried to defect to the North.

Cheong Wa Dae said it received the report about the shooting at 10:30 p.m., Tuesday, and held a ministerial meeting at 1:30 a.m., Wednesday, in which the information's reliability was discussed by National Security Adviser Suh Hoon, Presidential Chief of Staff Noh Young-min, National Intelligence Service chief Park Jie-won, Unification Minister Lee In-young and Defense Minister Suh Wook.

However, Moon did not participate in the meeting and they did not report the information to the President immediately after their meeting; Moon was briefed on the killing at 8:30 a.m., Wednesday, meaning he learned about the killing about 10 hours later.