South Korea’s 2019 deportation decision violated human rights, says UN
Without legal process, the East Asian country deported two North Korean fishermen suspected of murdering 16 shipmates
29 June 2022 - 08:40
byJosh Smith
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
Seoul — South Korea’s 2019 decision to deport without legal process two North Korean fishermen suspected of murdering their shipmates violated human rights principles, a UN investigator said on Wednesday, after prosecutors reopened the case.
South Korean activists had called on new President Yoon Suk-yeol to reinvestigate the case, blaming the previous government of trying to curry favour with Pyongyang amid denuclearisation negotiations and efforts at rapprochement.
While the fate of the two men is unconfirmed, there was an expectation their rights would be violated when they were turned over to North Korean authorities, and therefore Seoul had an obligation to process them in the South Korean justice system rather than immediately repatriate them, Tomas Ojea Quintana, UN special rapporteur on human rights in North Korea, told reporters.
“These are extremely dramatic cases, because once a person is repatriated there is no reversal,” he said. “The [South Korean] government should not have repatriated these persons right away.”
Former president Moon Jae-in’s administration deported the fishermen, describing them as “dangerous criminals” who killed 16 other colleagues aboard their vessel while crossing the sea border, and said they would cause harm if they were accepted into South Korean society.
North Korea faces accusations of extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, torture, arbitrary arrests, sexual violence and forced labour. It has denied mistreating its citizens.
South Korean prosecutors have reopened the case, unification minister Kwon Young-se, who handles relations with North Korea, told Reuters on Monday.
An official with the ministry said on Wednesday it would co-operate with the investigation.
Neither Moon, who has kept out of the public eye since leaving office, nor North Korea has commented on the case.
Quintana was among several UN officials who sent a letter to Seoul at the time expressing concern and asking for more information. The officials also sent a letter to Pyongyang.
During this week’s visit to Seoul, Quintana also met with the family of a South Korean who went missing at sea in September 2020 while working as a fishing inspector. North Korean authorities later shot him dead and set his body on fire, shocking many South Koreans and increasing cross-border tension.
That case has also been revisited by the Yoon administration, and last week South Korea’s maritime and military authorities reversed their earlier announcements and said there were no signs the official was trying to defect.
His family had refuted the defection claims, filing a lawsuit calling for the disclosure of government records.
Quintana said he supported the family’s right to know more from the South Korean government, adding that ultimately, North Korea was responsible for killing the official, and should also disclose information, punish those who shot him and provide reparations to the family.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un previously made a rare apology for the killing, calling it an “unexpected and disgraceful event”, though state media said blame lay with South Korea for not controlling its borders.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
South Korea’s 2019 deportation decision violated human rights, says UN
Without legal process, the East Asian country deported two North Korean fishermen suspected of murdering 16 shipmates
Seoul — South Korea’s 2019 decision to deport without legal process two North Korean fishermen suspected of murdering their shipmates violated human rights principles, a UN investigator said on Wednesday, after prosecutors reopened the case.
South Korean activists had called on new President Yoon Suk-yeol to reinvestigate the case, blaming the previous government of trying to curry favour with Pyongyang amid denuclearisation negotiations and efforts at rapprochement.
While the fate of the two men is unconfirmed, there was an expectation their rights would be violated when they were turned over to North Korean authorities, and therefore Seoul had an obligation to process them in the South Korean justice system rather than immediately repatriate them, Tomas Ojea Quintana, UN special rapporteur on human rights in North Korea, told reporters.
“These are extremely dramatic cases, because once a person is repatriated there is no reversal,” he said. “The [South Korean] government should not have repatriated these persons right away.”
Former president Moon Jae-in’s administration deported the fishermen, describing them as “dangerous criminals” who killed 16 other colleagues aboard their vessel while crossing the sea border, and said they would cause harm if they were accepted into South Korean society.
North Korea faces accusations of extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, torture, arbitrary arrests, sexual violence and forced labour. It has denied mistreating its citizens.
South Korean prosecutors have reopened the case, unification minister Kwon Young-se, who handles relations with North Korea, told Reuters on Monday.
An official with the ministry said on Wednesday it would co-operate with the investigation.
Neither Moon, who has kept out of the public eye since leaving office, nor North Korea has commented on the case.
Quintana was among several UN officials who sent a letter to Seoul at the time expressing concern and asking for more information. The officials also sent a letter to Pyongyang.
During this week’s visit to Seoul, Quintana also met with the family of a South Korean who went missing at sea in September 2020 while working as a fishing inspector. North Korean authorities later shot him dead and set his body on fire, shocking many South Koreans and increasing cross-border tension.
That case has also been revisited by the Yoon administration, and last week South Korea’s maritime and military authorities reversed their earlier announcements and said there were no signs the official was trying to defect.
His family had refuted the defection claims, filing a lawsuit calling for the disclosure of government records.
Quintana said he supported the family’s right to know more from the South Korean government, adding that ultimately, North Korea was responsible for killing the official, and should also disclose information, punish those who shot him and provide reparations to the family.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un previously made a rare apology for the killing, calling it an “unexpected and disgraceful event”, though state media said blame lay with South Korea for not controlling its borders.
Reuters
South Korea’s forceful stance to the North ‘puts a smile on Japan’s face’
North Korean volley of missiles its biggest yet, says expert
North Korea lifts lockdown as Covid-19 threat abates
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Most Read
Related Articles
South Korean truckers’ strike disrupts chip supply chain
Russian and Chinese jets fly over Sea of Japan during Quad meeting
Biden kicks off Asian tour in South Korea
Published by Arena Holdings and distributed with the Financial Mail on the last Thursday of every month except December and January.