'Repatriation of Defector Fishermen' Ruling and Opposition Clash... "Moon Government Inhumane" vs "Why Raise Issue Now"

Ruling Party: "Even if a heinous criminal, it should have been judged by our judicial system"
Opposition: "Are you saying to protect a suspect who killed 16 people?"

Kwon Seong-dong, Acting Leader of the People Power Party, is delivering a greeting at the urgent forum on "Diversification of Telecommunication Fees and Promotion of Consumer Rights" held at the National Assembly Members' Office Building on the 14th. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Juhee] The controversy surrounding the 'Forced Repatriation of North Korean Fishermen Incident' that occurred during the Moon Jae-in administration is intensifying. The Presidential Office and the ruling party have defined this incident as a 'inhumane and anti-humanitarian criminal act,' directly targeting the Moon Jae-in government. On the other hand, the Democratic Party of Korea is protesting, calling it a deliberate 'political attack on the previous administration.'

The forced repatriation incident involved two North Korean fishermen who expressed their intention to defect in November 2019 after killing 16 colleagues and defecting. However, they were expelled back to North Korea through Panmunjom. Recently, the Ministry of Unification belatedly released photos of the forced repatriation of the North Korean fishermen and stated that the previous government's decision to repatriate them had some faults. Three years ago, the Ministry of Unification reported to the National Assembly that the North Korean fishermen were heinous criminals who killed their colleagues and that their defection intentions were not genuine, thus justifying their expulsion. This stance has now been reversed. The photos released by the Ministry show one of the North Korean fishermen resisting at the Military Demarcation Line, trying not to cross northward.

The Presidential Office and the People Power Party argue that even if the North Korean fishermen were heinous criminals, the government's expulsion of them to North Korea without due legal process was wrong. Kang In-seon, spokesperson for the Presidential Office, said at a briefing at the Yongsan Presidential Office on the 13th, "If they were forcibly repatriated despite expressing their intention to defect, this is a violation of both international law and the constitution, constituting an inhumane and anti-humanitarian criminal act." She pointed out, "The desperate struggle to avoid being taken away is very different from the Moon Jae-in government's explanation that there was 'no intention to defect at all.'"

Minister of Unification Kwon Young-se also told reporters at the National Assembly on the same day, "Whether they are murderers or heinous criminals, the principle of presumption of innocence applies until proven guilty by our judicial system, so the process should have been handled procedurally and properly."

The People Power Party announced that it would consider a state audit and the introduction of a special prosecutor. Kwon Seong-dong, floor leader, said at the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 14th, "The source of the claim that the North Korean fishermen are 'murderers' is North Korea itself. We should not have believed North Korea's claims as they were but should have verified them first." He added, "We will consider concrete measures such as a state audit and a special prosecutor."

Woo Sang-ho, Emergency Response Committee Chairman of the Democratic Party of Korea, is touching his face after finishing his speech at the Emergency Response Committee meeting held at the National Assembly on the 4th. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

On the other hand, the Democratic Party protested, saying that the People Power Party did not raise any issues when the North Korean fishermen were repatriated and called it a political offensive against the previous administration. Woo Sang-ho, emergency committee chairman, said in an interview with YTN Radio on the same day, "They remained silent at the time but are now raising issues, which can only be seen as political maneuvering." He criticized, "This incident clearly involves heinous criminals who killed 16 fishermen, and it is difficult to see it as a pure defection. They were repatriated in the context of criminal extradition, yet it is being repeatedly questioned."

Yoon Gun-young, a lawmaker who served as the Blue House National Situation Room chief during the Moon Jae-in administration, also refuted the claims of the Presidential Office and the ruling party in an interview with TBS Radio on the same day, saying, "(The Navy captured the North Korean fishermen) after they fled for two days, and our military's special forces were deployed, even firing shots to arrest them. They were not innocent North Korean fishermen trying to defect to our country but bizarre murder suspects who killed 16 people."

He continued, "During the joint interrogation process at the time, they submitted a defection intention statement, but the government at the time could not believe the sincerity of this defection." He explained, "Because from the beginning, they intended to go to Jagang Province, not to come down to the South, and it was stated in the testimony that they even planned suicide when captured by the Navy."

Lawmaker Yoon also emphasized, "According to the Refugee Act, there is an exception clause that does not recognize refugees in the case of serious criminals, and the Act on the Protection of North Korean Defectors also states that protection may not be provided for serious crimes such as murder." He stressed, "Therefore, we made a policy decision not to protect (the North Korean fishermen)."

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