Prosecutors Summon Navy Officer Involved in 'Deportation of Defector Fishermen' for Investigation

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] The prosecution investigating the 'Forced Repatriation of North Korean Fishermen Incident' summoned a naval officer involved in the seizure of the vessel carrying the fishermen for questioning.

According to the legal community on the 25th, the Public Investigation Division 3 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Lee Jun-beom) called Major A of the Navy as a witness to verify the overall facts, including the maritime boundary operation conducted during the seizure of the North Korean vessel carrying the defecting fishermen on November 2, 2019, and the situation when the detainees were transferred to Donghae Naval Port after being subdued.

According to the minutes of the National Defense Committee meeting of the National Assembly on November 7, 2019, the South Korean Navy recognized through Special Intelligence (SI) that civilians aboard a North Korean fishing boat were involved in a murder case and that the North was conducting an operation, and strengthened boundary operations considering the possibility of southward movement.

The fishing boat crossed the Northern Limit Line (NLL) southward on the same day, then retreated northward following a removal order, and crossed the NLL again on November 2. The Navy seized the vessel as the individuals did not express any intention to defect and continuously entered South Korean territorial waters.

The prosecution is investigating the entire process in which the government at the time decided to send the fishermen back to North Korea despite their intention to defect, five days after they were seized by the South Korean military.

Former National Intelligence Service Director Suh Hoon, former Blue House National Security Office Director Chung Eui-yong, and former Presidential Chief of Staff Noh Young-min, who were in the decision-making line regarding the repatriation at the time, are all under investigation.

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