Amid the ongoing controversy over the forced repatriation of North Korean fishermen, the presidential office has revealed that the Moon Jae-in administration has not been able to take over the case properly.
As the former government and the current government clash head-on over the controversy over the forced repatriation of North Korean fishermen to North Korea, the presidential office criticized the former government again.
“It is not included in the new government’s takeover process”
An official from the presidential office said on the 25th, “What do you think of the former Blue House National Security Office chief Chung Eui-yong and others saying that the North Korean defectors had no intention of defecting?” on the 25th, said, “The issue was not included at all in the process of taking over with the inauguration of the new government. “After the matter began to be investigated in earnest, the security office went through the process of checking if there was any relevant material,” he said.
“That’s why I’m not in a position to give you a specific answer on that matter,” said the official, who said, “Because the prosecution is investigating, why not be patient and wait for the result?”
This is not the first time that officials from the presidential office and Moon Jae-in have expressed different views on the controversy over the forced repatriation of North Korean fishermen to North Korea.
On the 17th, former Blue House National Security Office Director Chung Eui-yong, who oversaw the Moon Jae-in administration’s foreign and security policies, defined North Korean fishermen as vicious criminals through Facebook and argued that “(fishers) are rare and bizarre killers, and had no intention of defecting to South Korea in the first place.” did.
After the clash between Chung Eui-yong and Choi Young-beom, another criticism of the Moon administration
On the same day, Choi Young-beom, senior public relations chief at the presidential office, said, “It is a serious problem to define North Korean defectors as bizarre killers without a proper investigation and to ignore a handwritten letter of intent to defect. We will cooperate closely to respond to the demands of the people.”
The 3rd Department of Public Investigation of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office is investigating the case of repatriating North Korean defectors to North Korea. Prosecutors are said to be checking what pre-work was done by the Moon Jae-in government officials to forcibly repatriate two North Korean fishermen to North Korea during the process of deportation through Panmunjom in November 2019.
Two North Korean defectors crossed the Northern Limit Line (NLL) on a fishing boat in the East Sea on November 2, 2019, during the Moon Jae-in administration, and were captured by the South Korean military. Although they expressed their intention to defect during the joint interrogation process by the relevant authorities, they were deported to North Korea through Panmunjom on November 7 of the same year, just five days later.
At the time, the authorities announced that they had killed 16 people, emphasizing that they were ‘heavy criminals’.
According to government officials, the two fishermen who crossed over to North Korea were executed a few days later.