The Chun Doo-hwan administration accused two North Korean agents of planting the bomb before disembarking from the aircraft during the first stopover in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Kim Hyon-hui, the sole survivor of the pair, was arrested and sentenced to death. She now lives in hiding in the South, after the Roh Tae-woo administration pardoned her.

North Korea, however, denies any involvement in the incident.

However, the bereaved family members have been questioning the authenticity of the findings of two investigations -- the Roh Moo-hyun administration reinvestigated the case and reached the same conclusion as the first investigation -- citing a lack of evidence.

“There is a lack of evidence that proves Kim Hyon-hui was a North Korean agent or that KAL 858 was bombed,” they said in the complaint.

“The (Roh) administration’s announcement on the incident at the time was dependent wholly on Kim’s confessions,” they added.

They filed a complaint against Kim with the Seoul Central District Court for libel and obstruction of business, as Kim has been publically defaming the family members’ efforts to get to the bottom of the incident.

In an interview in January with the conservative site Chogabje.com, which was posted later on YouTube, Kim labeled the organization of activists, lawyers and religious leaders as “pro-North Korean commies and a treacherous group.”

In a separate interview with Voice of America in November, Kim also condemned such activities as acts that disregard the truth and ideologically defend the North, the family members pointed out.

By Jung Min-kyung (mkjung@heraldcorp.com)