Ruling party to ask prosecution to look into former government's repatriation cases

Politics 16:42 July 27, 2022

SEOUL, July 27 (Yonhap) -- The ruling People Power Party (PPP) said Wednesday it will file a complaint asking the prosecution to investigate allegations that the previous administration repatriated North Koreans without due probes in two separate cases.

One of the cases happened in March this year, just days before the presidential election, when a North Korean vessel carrying six soldiers was seized in South Korean waters near the western sea border. The then government sent the boat back to the North even before a U.N. Command investigation team arrived for an investigation.

The other case happened in June 15, 2019, when a small North Korean fishing boat carrying four people was found at the port of Samcheok on the east coast, and two of them defected to South Korea while the other two were sent back to the North upon their request.

The ruling PPP claims the Moon Jae-in administration repatriated them after just two hours of questioning.

These cases are in addition to two other incidents involving North Korea that the current government of President Yoon Suk-yeol claims the Moon administration had mishandled in an effort to curry favor with Pyongyang so as to move the stalled peace process forward.