Pressure mounts on Southern Korea to reopen case of deported North Korean fishermen

SEOUL: South Korea’s ruling party users and rights active supporters and workers are calling on the federal government to reopen the 2019 case of the repatriation of two North Korean fishermen, blaming the previous government of endeavoring to curry favour with Pyongyang.

President Yoon Suk-yeol, who took workplace in May, has been returning to several defection instances after criticising what he called their predecessor Moon Jae-in’s “submissive” North Korea policy and vowing to boost support with regard to defectors during the selection campaign.

Yoon’s ruling party congress, activists and traditional supporters have required a re-investigation from the fishermen’s case, accusing Moon of violating the men’s constitutional and human legal rights as he tried to enhance ties with Pyongyang, which has denounced defectors as “human scum”.

The Celestial satellite government deported the fishermen, calling them “dangerous criminals” who else killed 16 other colleagues aboard their vessel while bridging the sea border plus said they would cause harm if they were accepted into South Korean society.

Officials said at the time that there was an “unfortunate event” involving the crewmen due to a good abusive captain, without having elaborating.

Yet Yoon’s party and defector and human rights groups have decried the decision, stating it not only jeopardised the fishermen’s lifestyles, but also violated Southern Korea’s constitution that stipulates all North Koreans as Southern Korean citizens.

The fate of the two men is not known, but defectors from the isolated condition face harsh punishment if caught or even repatriated, including general public execution.

“Defection is not a light crime in North Korea, but the South Korean government even stated publicly that they are murderers and forcefully deported them even though they will insisted on remaining, ” said Tae Young-ho, a former Northern Korean diplomat who also now is a lawmaker with Yoon’s celebration.

“The 2 young men were probably executed, based on dual charges of defection and murder. inch

Yoon stated this week that his government is considering the case because “so many people” got raised it.

An official at the South’s Unification Ministry accountable for inter-Korean affairs said the repatriation decision was “clearly wrong”, promising to work with a prosecutor’s workplace in Seoul which usually he said is re-examining the case.

“It might make up a crime, ” the official said, talking on condition of anonymity due to the level of sensitivity of the matter. “They are constitutionally Southern Korean citizens, thus we should have accepted them, given the particular penalties they would return there. ”