Did the Unification Ministry try to persuade defectors to return to North Korea? ... Government: “That could never happen”

[Financial News] The allegation that the Ministry of Unification tried to persuade some North Korean defectors (resettlers from the North) to return to North Korea during interviews with them was raised at a parliamentary audit on the 7th, sparking controversy. Minister of Unification Chung Dong-young immediately denied it that day, but it has been confirmed that the related case has led to litigation and is now at the first-instance trial stage.
Rep. Park Chung-kwon of the People Power Party, himself a young North Korean defector, disclosed at the audit that the head of the Ministry of Unification’s Policy Support Division had joined forces with Minbyun and repeatedly contacted 11 North Korean defectors who had settled in South Korea and were living well there, in an attempt to persuade them to return to North Korea. “The Policy Support Division head at the center of the controversy is here in the audit room,” Park said, adding, “This person has been the subject of a complaint and is currently on trial in the first instance.”
Minister Chung, however, smiled as if he found the allegation absurd. Rep. Park objected to the minister’s smile, prompting a verbal clash between the ruling and opposition parties. Rep. Jung Cheong-rae of the Democratic Party of Korea said, “Physiological reactions are hard to control. It’s wrong to pressure another lawmaker and tell them not to laugh.”
But committee chair Song Seok-jun of the People Power Party cautioned that “ordering a fellow lawmaker sounds inappropriate” and said, “Rep. Jung should reflect on his actions.” Chair Song pointed out, “Rep. Park Chung-kwon is a young North Korean defector. It could be mockery, not a physiological reaction.”
Rep. Kim Jun-hwan of the Democratic Party of Korea said, “Rather than discussing this at a parliamentary audit, the truth of what actually happened should be established through an investigation,” adding, “There’s no way Minbyun or government officials would have put their lives on the line to do something like that.”
Park then asked Minister Chung whether he had directly or indirectly checked with the two North Korean military prisoners who were recently repatriated about their intentions to return to North Korea. Chung replied, “That could never happen.”
The Ministry of Unification also issued a statement denying the allegations, saying claims that it had tried to persuade people to return to North Korea were entirely baseless. “Repatriating anyone against their will is not something that can happen,” the ministry said, adding that it “has regularly conducted interviews to assess the settlement status of North Korean resettlers and support their stable resettlement.”
However, the ministry said that “in the past, the relevant division interviewed some North Korean resettlers to assess their settlement status,” and denied the allegation, saying, “These were interviews to assess the resettlers’ settlement status, and the claim that they were ‘persuaded to return to North Korea’ is entirely untrue.”
The Ministry of Unification also said that “the North Korean resettlers who claim they were pressured to return to North Korea have filed a state compensation lawsuit against the government, and the case is now proceeding. The facts will be established through the trial.”

[email protected] Kim Gyeong-su Reporter