Is There Presidential Records on 'Forced Repatriation'?…Prosecutors Begin Selection and Verification from the 22nd

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[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] The prosecution investigating the 'Forced Repatriation of North Korean Fishermen Incident' will begin searching for evidence materials on the 22nd.

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) is conducting preliminary work this weekend at the Presidential Archives in Sejong City to secure evidence materials. A search warrant was first executed on the 19th, and procedural consultations with the Presidential Archives were completed on the same day. Over the weekend, equipment setup for the search operation was reportedly being finalized. Starting on the 22nd, the defense attorneys of those involved in the case will be allowed to observe the process of reviewing, selecting, and securing related documents.

The key issue is whether materials transferred from the Blue House National Security Office, which is known to have made the repatriation decision at the time of the incident, remain at the Presidential Archives. The prosecution is investigating allegations that in November 2019, the Moon Jae-in administration prematurely ended a joint investigation of two North Korean fishermen suspected of killing 16 fellow crew members without legal grounds and forcibly repatriated them to North Korea despite their intention to defect.

The Blue House National Security Office acted as the control tower. Former National Security Office Chief Chung Eui-yong also stated in a past interview that "(the fishermen's repatriation) can be seen as a decision made under the responsibility of the National Security Office Chief." It is known that no meeting minutes or departmental reports related to the forced repatriation remain in the current National Security Office. During the transition to the new administration, no information provision or handover related to the incident was reportedly conducted.

The prosecution is considering the possibility that related materials were designated as presidential records and transferred to the archives. To reconstruct the government's decision-making process from the fishermen's capture to repatriation and to examine legality, materials produced by the National Security Office, which played the control tower role, are necessary.

However, based on precedent, it is likely to take considerable time until the search at the Presidential Archives is completed. In the past, when the prosecution searched the Presidential Archives, it took as little as a week and as long as about 90 days to complete the execution of the warrant.

Since the establishment of the Presidential Archives in 2007, this is the ninth time the prosecution has accessed records for investigative purposes.

During the Lee Myung-bak administration in 2008, the prosecution obtained a warrant from the High Court Chief Judge to open presidential records while investigating allegations of unauthorized removal of former President Roh Moo-hyun's presidential records. In 2013, under the Park Geun-hye administration, presidential records were accessed to investigate allegations of destruction of meeting minutes from inter-Korean summits. During the Moon Jae-in administration, the Presidential Archives were searched five times in total, including investigations into allegations of manipulated reporting times related to the Sewol ferry disaster during the Park Geun-hye administration in 2017.

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