On November 7, 2019, South Korea forcibly repatriated two North Korean fishermen suspected of killing 16 of their fellow fishermen.^[1][2][3] The pair attempted to defect to South Korea after arriving in the south on November 2, 2019.^[4] This was the firstdeportation of North Koreans by theSouth Korean Government since the1953 Korean Armistice Agreement.^[5][6]

• According to theConstitution of South Korea,North Korean defectors also have South Koreanationality; therefore according to South Korean law, they should have the right to receive a fair trial.^[7]
• The South Korean Government received criticism for the deportation due to the lack of supporting evidence, which was based on just three days of investigation.^[8]
• The Minister ofUnification (Kim Yeon-chul), Minister ofNational Defense (Jeong Kyeong-doo), and Director ofNational Intelligence Service (Suh Hoon) were charged with dereliction of duty, abuse of official authority, and aiding a murder by theprosecution on November 11, 2019 and later at theInternational Criminal Court.^[9][10]
• The South Korean branch ofAmnesty International announced that South Korean Government's deportation was in violation of international human rights norms on November 11, 2019.^[11]
• Human Rights Watch announced that the South Korean Government's deportation was in disregard ofInternational Prohibition Against Torture on November 12, 2019.^[12]
• Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights stated that South Korean Government's deportation was illegal under international law.^[13]

Prosecutor's investigation was launched in 2022.^[14][15][16]

• Werner Weinhold

• North Korea–South Korea relations
• North Korean defector society
• Deportation
• Presidency of Moon Jae-in

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