Lee Jong-suk: “Repatriating defecting North Korean fishermen was the right thing to do” ... Opposition: “Even if they commit murder in North Korea, they must be punished under domestic law”

[Financial News] It was reported that on the 29th, NIS director Lee Jong-suk expressed his personal view on the past forced repatriation of defecting North Korean fishermen, saying that a North Korean defector who committed murder in North Korea “should be sent back.”
Rep. Yoo Young-ha, the People Power Party’s secretary on the National Assembly Intelligence Committee, spoke to reporters after the NIS audit ended on the 29th and conveyed what had been reported. According to Yoo, Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Park Ji-won asked Lee for his opinion on the 2019 decision to repatriate two North Korean fishermen accused of killing 16 fellow crew members. Lee replied, prefacing his answer as his personal opinion, that “sending them back is the right thing to do.”
Yoo noted, “The North Korean Refugees Protection and Settlement Support Act has a provision stating that people such as perpetrators of genocide or murderers may not be designated as eligible for settlement protection.” However, he said, “That means excluding them from settlement subsidies, housing assistance, vocational training, and medical benefits; it does not mean they can be expelled from the Republic of Korea or denied entry in the first place.” He added, “Even if they are criminals, if someone committed a crime in North Korea and came here, they are a citizen of the Republic of Korea under the current Constitution.” He stressed that “the intent of the law is that they must be punished under domestic law and dealt with after being tried in a domestic court, not arbitrarily sent back.”
The NIS was also reported to have said that some media reports claiming North Korea had recently resumed loudspeaker broadcasts aimed at South Korea were “not true.” In response to a related question, Lee reportedly explained, “It was determined that a report filed by one of the residents of Daeseong-ri was mistaken,” adding, “Media reports claiming that North Korea is using loudspeakers aimed at South Korea are inaccurate. The issue of loudspeakers aimed at South Korea is for the Ministry of National Defense to address, not the NIS.”
[email protected] Jiwon Song Reporter