About 3 weeks ago, it was revealed that two North Korean fishermen who escaped North Korea were coercively returned to North Korea in 2019. The disclosure of the incident has instigated lots of confusion and indignation among people including the ones in South Korea and the international community; in response, Korean prosecutors opened an investigation. 

The main controversial issue regarding this forced reparation of two North Koreans is that the reparation violates the agreement made in CAT (Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment). According to CAT, if there is a possibility of inhumane punishment of returners, coercive reparation is prohibited. Because South Korea is a party to the United Nations Conventions and North Korea is notorious for its harsh punishment towards civilians, the coercive reparation of North Korean fishermen is highly criticized. 

https://www.nknews.org/2022/07/new-photos-show-north-korean-fishermen-resisted-during-2019-repatriation/

Another contentious point is the fact that two North Korean fishermen were criminals who murdered 16 of their co-workers when they were in North Korea. Due to the crime they committed, some politicians argue that reparation was necessary to protect the civilians in South Korea and make the criminals to be punished in their own country. 

However, others argue that there was more intention in the decision such as the improvement of the relationship with North Korea. This is because the reparation process happened in a relatively extremely hasty manner; it only took 5 days for the officials to finish the investigation of the fishermen and send them back to North Korea. Others also argue that regardless of their crime, they should not have been forced to be returned due to two reasons: 1. violation of CAT 2. violation of the notion of “one country” - if South Korea and North Korea are one country and are truly meant to be unified, sending the criminals back to their “own” country counteracts this notion.

이주아 강남포스트 학생기자  webmaster@ignnews.kr

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