UN special rapporteur to visit Seoul to protest against hurried deportation of NK sailors

A boat on which two North Korean fishermen allegedly killed 16 other crew members is towed by a South Korean Navy vessel in the East Sea, Nov. 8. / Yonhap

By Yi Whan-woo, Kim Yoo-chul

A United Nations expert on human rights plans to visit Seoul next month, to file the organization's “low-key” protest over the government's recent decision to deport two North Korean fishermen, a high-ranking diplomatic source said Monday.

“Tomas Ojea Quintana, the U.N.'s special rapporteur on human rights in North Korea, plans to meet senior government officials next month in Seoul. One of the main topics to be discussed during Quintana's visit would be how to better protect human rights of North Koreans who attempt to escape to South Korea for non-political reasons,” the diplomatic source told The Korea Times on condition of anonymity.

Last week, the South Korean Navy intercepted a wooden fishing boat from North Korea after a two-day pursuit and brought the two North Koreans on board ashore. Later, the South's unification ministry decided to deport them as they were suspected of killing 16 other crew members while fishing in the East Sea.

After contacting the North Korean authorities, South Korean officials handed them over at the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the two countries. Multiple reports said the two North Korean fishermen weren't given the specifics of their whereabouts until they were taken back to the DMZ.

The National Assembly Unification and Diplomacy Committee called for a thorough investigation into the deportation. Unification Minister Kim Yeon-chul told lawmakers the deported fishermen weren't subject to apply for refugee status as they were “directly involved” in the killings.

The ministry, which has the authority to handle all inter-Korean affairs, presented its rationale for the deportation saying serious criminals aren't subject to receive legal protection under the Act on the Protection and Settlement Assistance for Residents Escaping from North Korea.

Opposition lawmakers claimed the deportation was a “gesture” from the South which is trying to rebuild momentum for cross-border reconciliation as inter-Korean relations are currently in bad shape.

But Human Rights Watch claimed the South's decision was “illegal” under international law as the deported North Koreans were highly likely to be tortured and executed under the North's brutal legal system.

The ministry, however, said criminals couldn't be recognized as refugees under international law.

Human Rights Watch claimed while international refugee law excludes from refugee status individuals who committed brutal non-political crimes outside the “receiving country,” human rights law prohibits returning anyone to a country where they would be at “substantial risk” of being tortured, whether they are a refugee or not.

South Korea is a signatory of the U.N. Convention against Torture that aims to prevent torture and other acts of cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment around the world.

Since he took office in May 2017, President Moon Jae-in has been pursuing a “North Korea-centric” engagement policy. He held summits with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un with whom he reached agreements to end “hostile acts” and resume inter-Korean economic projects to help the impoverished North transform into a market-driven economy.

But the latest incident adds to a series of the government's low-key measures on Pyongyang's human rights record. Among them are a ban on human rights activists sending anti-Kim leaflets across the border, as well as a lack of major reports from the Center for North Korean Human Rights Record.

“This apparently is another example of South Korea walking on eggshells when it comes to issues on the North's human rights,” said An Chan-il, head of the World Institute for North Korea Studies.

The deportation caused a stir when it was found that President Moon, a former human rights lawyer, took a lenient stance toward a case in 1996.

Back then, Moon, who worked as a lawyer at that time, defended six Korean Chinese sailors who were brought to trial for murdering 11 South Koreans. Moon then said the mass murder was “accidental” and that the perpetrators should be “warmly embraced as Korean brothers.”

The six were sentenced to death but were given life imprisonment in 2007 when Moon was serving as chief of staff of the late President Roh Moo-hyun.

On a related note, Cheong Wa Dae is facing further criticism for declining a request made Nov. 14 by parents of a U.S. student, who died after suspected mistreatment during imprisonment in the North, to meet with the President.

The student, Otto Warmbier, was detained in the North for 17 months, before being returned home in a coma in 2017 where he died days later.

His parents have been harsh critics of the North since then. They are scheduled to come to Seoul on Nov. 22. Cheong Wa Dae said the President already has appointments.