{
  "id": 16006762,
  "title": "Ex-officials defend 2019 repatriation of NK fishermen as criminal deportation",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/22/ex-officials-defend-2019-repatriation-of-nk-fishermen-as-criminal",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-22T06:12:04.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Korea Times",
    "slug": "the-korea-times-koreatimes",
    "url": "https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/southkorea/law-crime/20261022/ex-officials-defend-2019-repatriation-of-nk-fishermen-as-criminal-deportation"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Former national security adviser Chung Eui-yong, former National Intelligence Service director Suh Hoon, and former unification minister Kim Yeon-chul defended the 2019 repatriation of North Korean fishermen on Thursday. They maintained that the act was a deportation of criminals. This assertion came in a statement issued the day after the Seoul High Court sentenced them to suspended prison terms for their roles in the case. The officials argued that the situation was not merely a forced repatriation of North Korean defectors. Instead, it was a deportation measure targeting individuals who had committed serious inhumane crimes. The three were part of President Moon Jae-in's administration when the deportation took place in November 2019. The deported fishermen were captured near the eastern maritime border and accused of killing 16 crew members. This decision drew widespread criticism, as the fishermen had previously expressed their intention to defect to South Korea. Under the South Korean policy, the country typically accepts defectors.",
  "summary": "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…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 3,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Yonhap News",
        "title": "Ex-officials defend 2019 repatriation of N.K. fishermen as criminal deportation",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/22/ex-officials-defend-2019-repatriation-of-n-k-fishermen-as-criminal",
        "published": "2026-10-22T05:46:21.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "The Korea Times",
        "title": "Ex-officials defend 2019 repatriation of NK fishermen as criminal deportation",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/22/ex-officials-defend-2019-repatriation-of-nk-fishermen-as-criminal-16010482",
        "published": "2026-10-22T06:57:04.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}