South Korea’s decision in 2019 to deport two North Korean fisherman accused of killing their crewmates without due process violated human rights norms, a United Nations investigator concluded on Wednesday, after prosecutors revisited the case.
South Korean activists have urged new President Yoon Suk-yeol to reinvestigate the matter, accusing the previous administration of attempting to gain favour with Pyongyang amid denuclearisation negotiations and reconciliation attempts.
While the fate of the two men is unknown, there was an expectation that their rights would be violated if they were handed over to North Korean authorities, so Seoul had an obligation to process them in the South Korean justice system rather than immediately repatriate them, according to Tomas Ojea Quintana, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in North Korea.
‘These are really serious cases because there is no reversal once a person is repatriated,’ he said. ‘The government of South Korea should not have immediately repatriated these individuals.’
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