A South Korean court found four former government officials guilty on Wednesday ( Feb 19 ) of forcing the repatriation of two North Korean fishermen in 2019 despite their intention to defect, in a case that drew the criticism of international human rights activists.
The fishermen were deported when the previous state of Moon Jae-in’s state called them “dangerous criminals” because they had killed 16 coworkers in a row over an aggressive captain on their deliver before crossing the sea border.
The four, who had worked under Moon’s leadership, were ordered to serve in the Seoul Central District Court, who had all denied crime.
Previous National Intelligence Service commander Suh Hoon, former National Security Office chief Chung Eui-yong, past president Noh Young-min, former chief of staff Kim Yeon-chul, and former minister of unity Kim Yeon-chul.
South Korea sentences people to suspended sentences for crimes that are perceived as small and do not qualify as convictions in the conventional sense but still appear on the criminal record.
South Korea reopened the case in 2022, with Yook Suk Yeol’s business denouncing the deportation to North Korea, which described the dissenters as “human filth” as a possible” crime against humanity.”
Freedom organizations, including US-based Human Rights Watch, criticized the imprisonment because it feared the people would be tortured, and Human Rights Watch called it unlawful under international law. Their death has not been confirmed.
North Korean security officers dragging the males over the borders into the hands of North Korean troops were seen in photos and videos released by the Yoon leadership in 2022.
Former National Security Office director Chung defended the repatriations outside the courtroom and said he would consider whether to challenge the decision.
” Those repatriated… in November 2019 were not just North Korean defectors who committed criminal acts in the course of departure, as lawyers claim”, Chung told reporters.
” They brutally killed 16 of their fellow sailors ( and ) fled from North Korean society”.
Lawyers could not be reached for comment right away.