Prosecutors Summon Former JSA Guard Battalion Commander Involved in 'Forced Repatriation of North Korean Fishermen' Operation

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] The prosecution investigating the 'forced repatriation of North Korean fishermen' summoned a former Joint Security Area (JSA) official who participated in the repatriation operation on the 18th.

According to the legal community, the Public Investigation Division 3 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Lee Jun-beom) summoned former JSA Guard Battalion Commander Im Eui-jin for questioning as a suspect on the morning of the same day.

During the investigation, the prosecution reportedly confirmed the situation of the operation to repatriate two North Korean fishermen to North Korea, as well as the contents and circumstances of the report made to former Deputy Director Kim.

Former Battalion Commander Im was reported to the North Korean Human Rights Database Center (NKDB) on the 12th of last month on charges of forcibly sending back two North Korean fishermen suspected of killing a fellow crew member in 2019 (illegal detention and concealment of a criminal). He is also the figure who brought the forced repatriation incident to public attention.

About three hours before the forced repatriation, around noon on November 7, 2019, former Battalion Commander Im sent a text message to Kim Yoo-geun, then First Deputy Director of the National Security Office at the Blue House, who was attending the full meeting of the National Assembly Budget and Accounts Committee, stating that "two North Korean residents will be repatriated to the North side from Panmunjom."

At that time, a media outlet filmed and reported the scene of former Deputy Director Kim checking this message, which became the trigger for the forced repatriation incident to become known.