Prosecution Re-summons Former Unification Ministry Vice Minister Seo Ho After Six Days... Related to 'Forced Repatriation of Defector Fishermen'

Former Minister of Unification Seo Ho. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin, Legal Affairs Specialist] Seo Ho, former Vice Minister of Unification, who was accused in connection with the 'Forced Repatriation of North Korean Fishermen' case, was summoned again by the prosecution after six days.

According to the legal community on the 21st, the Public Investigation Division 3 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Lee Jun-beom) summoned former Vice Minister Seo again this morning and is currently investigating him. The prosecution had previously summoned and investigated former Vice Minister Seo on the 15th.

Former Vice Minister Seo was accused by the North Korean Human Rights Information Center on the 12th of last month of forcibly sending back two North Korean fishermen, who were presumed to have killed their fellow crew members, to North Korea in November 2019 while he was serving as Vice Minister.

The North Korean Human Rights Information Center filed a complaint with the prosecution against former Vice Minister Seo, former Blue House National Security Office Chief Chung Eui-yong, former National Intelligence Service Director Suh Hoon, and former Minister of Unification Kim Yeon-chul, stating that forcibly sending back North Korean fishermen who expressed their intention to defect constitutes abuse of authority, dereliction of duty, and aiding a criminal, among other charges.

They are suspected of forcibly ending the government joint investigation, which normally takes about two weeks, within 3 to 4 days and partially deleting expressions such as 'defection' from the report.

Kim Yeon-chul, former Minister of Unification and superior to former Vice Minister Seo, appeared before the National Assembly Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee at the time and responded that although the fishermen expressed their intention to defect, their sincerity could not be recognized.

The prosecution is reportedly focusing on questioning former Vice Minister Seo about the circumstances under which the report was revised and the internal discussions within the Ministry of Unification.

Following former Vice Minister Seo, summons and investigations of former Minister Kim, former Chief Chung, and former Director Suh, who were also accused, are expected to take place soon.

Earlier, on the 19th, the prosecution conducted a search and seizure at the Presidential Archives in Sejong City and secured presidential records related to the forced repatriation case.

At the time of the forced repatriation, the Blue House inquired the National Intelligence Service about 'cases of deportation of North Korean defectors involved in serious crimes' from November 1, 2019, before the fishermen were captured, and suspicions have been raised that the repatriation policy was pre-decided at a countermeasure meeting chaired by then-Chief Presidential Secretary Noh Young-min on November 4, two days after the capture.

On November 5 of the same year, just two hours after sending a diplomatic note to North Korea stating the intention to repatriate the fishermen, the Moon Jae-in administration delivered a letter inviting Kim Jong-un to the Busan Korea-ASEAN Summit scheduled for November 26.

Additionally, on the day of the repatriation, November 7, the Blue House requested a legal review related to the repatriation from the Ministry of Justice, and despite the Ministry of Justice's review result stating that 'there is no legal basis to forcibly repatriate North Korean fishermen,' the forced repatriation was carried out.

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