Prosecutors Partially Secure and Analyze Copy of Blue House Document on 'Forced Repatriation'

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] The prosecution investigating the 'Forced Repatriation of North Korean Fishermen Incident' is reported to have secured copies of some documents created at the Blue House at the time from the Presidential Archives and has begun reconstructing the decision-making process of the government at that time.

According to the legal community on the 28th, the Public Investigation Division 3 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Lee Jun-beom) conducted a search and seizure at the Presidential Archives in Sejong City on the 26th under the observation of the defendants' lawyers related to the case, securing copies of some Blue House documents for analysis.

During the search and seizure at the Presidential Archives, the prosecution obtained a list of 19 documents created at the Blue House from November 2019, the period from when North Korean fishermen were found in the East Sea until their repatriation. The document list reportedly included information such as titles, summaries, dates, and authors.

Subsequently, the prosecution reviewed the list to reconstruct the government's decision-making process at the time and selected documents requiring full acquisition to examine legality. They conducted a second search and seizure, securing copies of some documents and reviewing others.

Although the prosecution's search and seizure at the Presidential Archives has been temporarily concluded, there remains a possibility of additional search and seizure for documents that were only reviewed.

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