DISPUTE OVER REPATRIATION OF N. KOREANS

[Anchor Lead]

Two days ago, the Ministry of Unification released the photos of North Korean fishermen who were sent back to North Korea in 2019. The ministry's change in its stance has caused intense debating in the political circle. The president's office and the People Power Party claimed the repatriation was a crime against humanity and called for a thorough investigation, while the opposition Democratic Party pointed to the fact that brutal criminals who had killed 16 people cannot be accepted as South Korean citizens.

[Pkg]

On the day after the release of the photos of North Korean fishermen's repatriation to the DPRK the presidential office issued a statement.

[Soundbite] Kang In-sun(Presidential Spokeswoman) : "If they were forcibly sent back, that is a crime against humanity that violated international law and the Constitution."

The office also vowed to dig deeper in search of the truth. As for the allegation that the fishermen had killed their co-workers, the president's office said attention should be paid to whether a proper defection procedure was taken, not what kind of people they were. When questioned whether the former administration is being targeted because of the President's falling approval ratings, the presidential office said it is important to restore the universal values of freedom and human rights and denied that it was retaliation against the former government. The ruling People Power Party called it annihilation of human rights and plans to organize its own fact-finding task force.

[Soundbite] Kweon Seong-dong(Acting chair, PPP) : "No office has the authority to forcibly send back N. Koreans who defected to S. Korea."

The Democratic Party accused the PPP of using national security to incite public uproar. The opposition party asked if South Korea should have accepted heinous criminals who had allegedly killed 16 people.

[Soundbite] Woo Sang-ho(Chair, DP Emergency Committee) : "We handed them over as per criminal extradition procedure. It's excessive to call it a crime against humanity. Was the killing of 16 people humane?"

The DP said that five joint interrogation teams had agreed on the fishermen's crimes based on the communication monitoring data at the time and their testimonies. They had considered the exception clause in the Act on the Protection and Settlement Support of North Korean Defectors which stipulated that a criminal who committed a serious crime such as murder can be excluded from protection. The DP claimed that the fishermen did not intend to defect in the first place.

[Soundbite] Youn Kun-young(DP(Former pres. secretary for state affairs planning)) : "The N. Korean fishermen at first intended to flee to Jagangdo Island and sold goods at Kimchaek Port. They didn’t respond to the S. Korean military's demand to surrender near the NLL and fled instead."

On the other hand, North Korean defector groups demanded an investigation and punishment for those responsible.