Ex-officials defend 2019 repatriation of NK fishermen as criminal deportation
Three former officials convicted of forcibly repatriating North Korean fishermen in 2019 defended the move Thursday, describing it as a deportation of criminals. Chung Eui-yong, former national security adviser, Suh Hoon, former National Intelligence Service director, and Kim Yeon-chul, former unification minister, made the assertion in a statement issued a day after the Seoul High Court…
In a statement released following their sentencing to suspended prison terms, three former officials involved in the 2019 repatriation of North Korean fishermen have defended the act, labeling it a deportation of criminals. The assertion came from Chung Eui-yong, the ex-national security adviser, Suh Hoon, the former head of the National Intelligence Service, and Kim Yeon-chul, the previous unification minister.
These individuals were part of the Moon Jae-in administration when they facilitated the deportation of two North Korean fishermen to North Korea in November 2019. The fishermen had been apprehended near the eastern maritime border, accused of the murder of 16 crew members. The act of deportation triggered widespread criticism, as the fishermen had previously expressed their intent to defect to South Korea. South Korea follows a policy of accepting North Korean defectors.
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