This composition file photo shows, from left, former national security adviser Chung Eui-yong; Noh Young-min, former presidential chief of staff; Suh Hoon, former chief of the National Intelligence Service; and former Unification Minister Kim Yeon-chul. Yonhap
First trials of four ministerial-level figures of the previous Moon Jae-in government indicted two years ago over their alleged involvement in the forced repatriation of two North Korean fishermen in 2019 will be completed next month, judicial officials said Tuesday.
The four are former national security adviser and Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong; Noh Young-min, former presidential chief of staff; Suh Hoon, former chief of the National Intelligence Service; and former Unification Minister Kim Yeon-chul.
In November 2019, the Moon government sent back the two fishermen captured near the eastern inter-Korean sea border, saying the North Koreans confessed to killing 16 fellow crew members. But the four officials are suspected of forcing officials of the relevant government agencies to deport the fishermen despite their wishes to defect to South Korea.
The Seoul Central District Court has set a Feb. 19 sentencing date for the case, according to the officials. Most of the trials in that case have been held behind closed doors for reasons such as protecting confidential information related to national security, but the sentencing hearing will be held in public, they added. (Yonhap)
