Foreign Affairs Committee Repeatedly Criticizes Alleged Repatriation of Chinese North Korean Defectors... Ambassador to China Says "Difficult to Fully Grasp"

National Assembly Foreign Affairs Committee Meeting Held in Beijing on the 13th
Also Mentioned Non-Detention Transfer of 'Detained' Son Junho Player

"There is ample reason to criticize whether the South Korean government is actively responding to the issue of repatriation of North Korean defectors. We must take a more aggressive stance. (Ha Tae-kyung, People Power Party lawmaker)"

"Judging from China's stance, the repatriation of North Korean defectors was as obvious as seeing fire. The government should have discussed solutions at the national level and made every effort, but it did not. (Park Hong-geun, Democratic Party lawmaker)"

At the National Assembly Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee's audit held on the 13th at the South Korean Embassy in Beijing, criticism continued regarding the government's response, including the embassy, following media reports that China forcibly repatriated about 600 North Korean defectors recently.

Ambassador Jeong Jae-ho is responding to questions from lawmakers during the National Assembly Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee's audit held on the 13th at the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Beijing, China. (Photo by Kim Hyun-jung)

Ha Tae-kyung of the People Power Party pointed out, "North Korean defectors are South Korean citizens and family members of South Korean citizens, and this must be emphasized to the Chinese side," adding, "Efforts should be made to build networks with human rights activists and organizations supporting defectors to monitor the situation."

Park Hong-geun of the Democratic Party asked whether Prime Minister Han Duck-soo made efforts to prevent the repatriation of defectors when he met with Chinese President Xi Jinping last month. In response, Ambassador Jeong Jae-ho, who was present at the meeting, explained, "That issue was raised, and President Xi responded that defectors are regarded not as defectors but as illegal border crossers, and that they are handled according to domestic law, international law, and humanitarian considerations."

Following this, Yoon Sang-hyun of the People Power Party emphasized, "Actively identifying the whereabouts of defectors and insisting that they not be forcibly repatriated is the 'value diplomacy' of the Yoon Seok-yeol administration," adding, "We must have principles and discuss this practically on the ground." Ambassador Jeong explained, "I was also appointed under the Yoon Seok-yeol administration and believe I understand its values and ideology better than anyone. I am working hard, but unless the defectors are reported, it is impossible to know what category they fall into." He added, "You are well aware of China's political characteristics. It is very opaque, making it difficult to grasp everything."

On-site, criticism also continued regarding the current detention issue of athlete Son Jun-ho. Son Jun-ho, a football player for Shandong Taishan, was forcibly taken at Shanghai Hongqiao Airport in May while trying to return home with his family and has been under investigation by the Chaoyang Public Security Bureau in Liaoning Province on charges of bribery as a non-state actor. Since the expiration of the criminal detention (temporary detention) period, he has remained in custody.

Regarding this, Cho Jung-sik of the Democratic Party asked, "Shouldn't we verify whether there are human rights violations and convert his status to non-custodial?" Ambassador Jeong replied, "The embassy must abide by the laws of the host country," adding, "We try not to appear to interfere excessively in the host country's domestic judicial procedures." Cho emphasized, "There must be no disadvantages or human rights violations. We can firmly demand a swift transition to non-custodial investigation. This should be continuously raised as a key agenda item at high-level diplomatic talks and meetings between the two countries."

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