Ministry of Justice: "Legal Review Conducted Before Forced Repatriation, Determined No Legal Basis"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] It has been confirmed that during the Moon Jae-in administration in 2019, the Ministry of Justice conducted a legal review before forcibly sending North Korean defecting fishermen back to North Korea and concluded that "there is no legal basis for forced repatriation."

On the 20th, the Ministry of Justice released a statement saying, "On November 7, 2019, around noon, we received a request from the Blue House for a legal review regarding the repatriation of defecting fishermen," confirming this fact.

The Ministry of Justice added that at the time, under the 'Act on the Protection and Settlement Support of North Korean Defectors,' there was no obligation to support the entry of non-protected persons such as non-political criminals, but it judged that there was no legal basis for forcibly deporting non-protected persons who had already entered the country.

It also explained that forced deportation measures under the Immigration Control Act, which applies to foreigners, were difficult to apply, and that forced repatriation under Article 4 of the Criminal Extradition Act without mutual judicial guarantee could cause controversy.

Despite this legal review, the Ministry of Justice's Legal Affairs Office reportedly conveyed to the Blue House the opinion that deporting the fishermen was inevitable.

However, the current Ministry of Justice responded to Rep. Taeyoung Ho of the People Power Party that "it was not involved in the decision-making process related to the repatriation of defecting fishermen."

Earlier, former Blue House National Security Office Chief Chung Eui-yong announced on the 17th, "After consultations among relevant departments, it was decided to deport them to North Korea according to our laws."

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