"Over 70 Years, 3,263 Fishermen Abducted and Returned: We Must Help" ... Gyeongbuk Provincial Council Member Hwang Jae-cheol Proposes Support Ordinance

Hwang Jae-cheol, Gyeongbuk Provincial Councilor.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Koo Dae-seon] The Gyeongbuk Provincial Council announced on the 15th that Assemblyman Hwang Jae-cheol (Independent, Yeongdeok) has introduced the "Gyeongsangbuk-do Ordinance on the Restoration of Honor and Support for North Korean Abducted Returning Fishermen and Victims of State Violence" to restore the honor and provide support for fishermen who were abducted by North Korea during maritime fishing operations since the division and returned, as well as their families who suffered from state violence.

The main contents of the ordinance include support projects for truth investigation, victim recovery, and social awareness improvement, as well as the establishment of a support center for victims of state violence among North Korean abducted returning fishermen.

Until the 1970s, North Korea frequently abducted South Korean fishing vessels using patrol boats and fleets. In an era without GPS, our fishing vessels were defenselessly abducted in the middle of the sea where the maritime military demarcation line was ambiguous.

According to the Ministry of Unification's "Post-war Abductee Status" data, 3,729 fishermen were abducted over 70 years since the signing of the Military Armistice Agreement in 1953, of which 3,263 are known to have returned. However, there are still 457 abductees, including detainees, who have not returned.

The government uniformly announced that many vessels that were abducted and returned had crossed the military demarcation line, and most of the crew members served prison terms ranging from several months to years for violations of the National Security Act, Anti-Communist Act, and Fisheries Act.

Assemblyman Hwang Jae-cheol explained the purpose of the ordinance, saying, "They endured all kinds of persuasion, threats, and violence while detained in North Korea and returned to their hometowns, but instead of warmly welcoming them, the state treated them as criminals, illegally detained and interrogated them for days, and stigmatized them as criminals."

This ordinance is expected to pass at the plenary session held on the 21st after review by the Gyeongbuk Provincial Council's Administrative, Health, and Welfare Committee.

Assemblyman Hwang was elected as a Gyeongbuk Provincial Assembly member in Yeongdeok as a Saenuri Party candidate in 2014 and was re-elected as an independent in the local elections last June.

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