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Ex-officials behind repatriation of North Korean fishermen handed suspended sentences

Published: 19 Feb. 2025, 18:36

LIM JEONG-WON
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Former National Security Adviser Chung Eui-yong, right, and former National Intelligence Service (NIS) Director Suh Hoon speak to reporters after receiving suspended sentences at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho District, southern Seoul, on Feb. 19. [YONHAP]

Former senior officials involved in a forced repatriation case involving North Korean fishermen during the Moon Jae-in administration received suspended sentences from a Seoul court on Wednesday.

Former National Security Adviser Chung Eui-yong and former National Intelligence Service (NIS) Director Suh Hoon were indicted without detention in February 2023 on charges of forcibly sending back to North Korea two fishermen who were accused of murdering 16 fellow crew members in 2019, despite their intention to defect.

Chung and Suh were handed suspended sentences of 10 months in prison by the Seoul Central District Court after being indicted on charges of obstructing the exercise of rights by abuse of authority under the National Intelligence Service Act.

Former presidential chief of staff Noh Young-min and former Unification Minister Kim Yeon-chul, who were indicted together with Chung and Suh, were each given suspended sentences of six months in prison.

The fishermen were captured by the South Korean military near the Northern Limit Line (NLL) while sailing south on a fishing boat in the East Sea, and the South Korean government at the time repatriated them to the North after five days, stating that those who committed serious non-political crimes, such as murder, were not eligible for protection.

There are also allegations that these fishermen were prevented from exercising their right to be tried according to domestic laws and procedures.

“Despite the fact that careful legal review was required, the defendants, based only on the confession of having committed a heinous crime, overemphasized speed and decided to repatriate the North Koreans only two days after the arrest, and actually repatriated them five days later,” the court said.

“However, since most of the legal systems regarding such matters were established in a state where we could not escape the confrontational mentality that had developed since the division of the South and the North, there are no legal guidelines at all that can be applied to cases like this one," the court continued. "Even though institutional improvement is a priority, there is a question as to whether it is right to punish only the people responsible for the incident."

BY LIM JEONG-WON [[email protected]]