Prosecutors said Friday they have requested arrest warrants for three people suspected of trying to defect to North Korea, allegedly disgruntled with the South Korean society.
A medical doctor, identified only by his last name Shin, and two others are charged with attempting entry into the communist state via China last February, prosecutors said.
The three returned to South Korea after failing to cross into the North, despite receiving help from an acquaintance in Sweden.
They met through an online pro-North Korea community and were quoted as having attempted defection because they were "sick of (South) Korean society," prosecutors said.
Prosecutors have not found evidence of other parties' involvement in the defection attempt but are probing indications that the three had contact with the North during their stay in China.