Direct Clash Over 'Fishermen Repatriation'... Ruling Party: "Dangerous Deal" vs Opposition: "47 Fishermen Repatriations to the North Since 2010"

Ruling Party's Full-Scale Criticism of Previous Administration
"Not a Hasty Deportation," Opposition Party Responds

[Photo by Ministry of Unification] [Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jun-yi] On the 15th, the ruling party launched a full-scale offensive against the Moon Jae-in administration over the 'Fishermen Repatriation' incident. In response, the opposition party rebutted that the previous government did not hastily repatriate the defectors.

At the 'Legal Review and Measures to Prevent Recurrence of the Forced Repatriation of Defector Sailors' forum held at the National Assembly that morning, jointly hosted by the People Power Party's Policy Committee, Human Rights Committee, International Committee, and the NKDB Human Rights Violation Support Center, party leaders and lawmakers raised their voices regarding the fishermen repatriation incident.

Kwon Seong-dong, Acting Representative and Floor Leader, said in his congratulatory speech, "Even if they are considered heinous criminals, since they entered the Republic of Korea and expressed their intention to defect, they are clearly citizens of the Republic of Korea as defined by the Constitution."

He stated, "The Moon Jae-in administration, which engaged in dangerous dealings with North Korea at the expense of the innocent lives of two people, must be rightfully condemned."

Seong Il-jong, Chair of the Policy Committee, said, "There has been no place in the Republic of Korea that has not collapsed over the past five years. This incident, which was secretly pursued, is a very important moment to set the Republic of Korea straight, and it must be revealed."

Han Ki-ho, Chair of the Fact-Finding Task Force (TF), said, "To repatriate through Panmunjom, the consent of the United Nations Command must be obtained. When the UN Command was repeatedly questioned about the repatriation, they refused up to five times, saying 'We cannot agree.'"

Kim Ki-hyun said, "This is a very important barometer to determine whether the Republic of Korea will exist as a free democratic country and a human rights state, or whether freedom, human rights, and even human life can be arbitrarily deprived for the political purposes of a certain political group," criticizing it as "an issue related to the foundation of the nation."

On the other hand, the Democratic Party of Korea counterattacked, saying the facts are different. According to data submitted to Rep. Yoon Geon-young's office by the Ministry of Unification, from 2010 to May 2022, there were a total of 67 cases in which North Korean residents crossed the Northern Limit Line by sea, involving 276 people. The government repatriated 194 of them over 47 occasions. Eighty-two defected.

Rep. Yoon explained, "Cases where North Korean civilian vessels were discovered and immediately repatriated on the same day were commonly confirmed in previous governments. The average duration for the 47 repatriations from 2010 to the present was 5.6 days."

He added, "The November 2019 defector fishermen repatriation incident involved expulsion through Panmunjom five days after capture, so it cannot be seen as a significantly rushed expulsion compared to other cases."

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