Yoon on 2019 North Korean Defector Repatriation Incident: "Constitutionally Our Citizens... Citizens Are Puzzled"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] President Yoon Seok-yeol pointed out the forced repatriation incident of North Korean fishermen that occurred in November 2019, saying, "If they entered our country, they are considered citizens of the Republic of Korea according to our constitution, so many citizens are puzzled about the forced repatriation." This is interpreted as indicating the need for fact-finding following the recent cancellation of the appeal in the West Sea government official shooting incident.

On the morning of that day, while meeting with reporters on his way to the presidential office in Yongsan, Seoul, President Yoon was asked about his position on the ruling party's demand for fact-finding regarding the forced repatriation of North Korean fishermen. He said, "It is still under review, but hasn't the public raised many issues about this for a long time?" He added, "It seems to be under review now," and "I have not yet received a detailed report myself."

The People Power Party, the day before, defined the recent reversal of the investigation results on the West Sea government official shooting incident as a 'defection operation' by the Moon Jae-in administration and expressed their intention to launch a fact-finding investigation into the 2019 forced repatriation incident of North Korean fishermen.

Previously, the Moon Jae-in administration repatriated two North Korean residents who were captured by our navy after killing 16 fellow crew members and fleeing in November 2019, not by extradition but by 'deportation.' The two North Korean sailors wrote handwritten letters expressing their intention to defect on the day of their capture, but they were reportedly deported through Panmunjom five days later without knowing about the forced repatriation.

Regarding the Democratic Party of Korea's demand to disclose the military's Special Intelligence (SI) related to the West Sea slain government official, President Yoon said, "I think SI is not something that can be simply disclosed to the public," and added, "I find it somewhat difficult to accept the demand to disclose it, but I will review it to see what it is."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.