Fishermen returned to North Korea demand the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to investigate ‘violation of the state’s duty of protection’

As national measures related to kidnapping prevention and rescue are not revealed, 'compensation responsibility' is also diluted.

(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Yang Su-yeon = Fishermen who were abducted by North Korea visited the Truth and Reconciliation Committee to investigate the past and what measures the state took to prevent abductions and rescue fishermen.

On the afternoon of the 11th, Fighting Chance, a citizens' group for fishermen abducted by North Korea and returning to North Korea, held a press conference in front of the Truth and Reconciliation Committee in Jung-gu, Seoul, and submitted a truth-finding request to determine whether the state violated its duty to protect abducted fishermen returned to North Korea.

The ships, including the Seungwoon, on which the eight applicants for truth-finding this time were on board, were kidnapped in the East Sea from August to October 1971 and returned on September 7, 1972.

The 2nd Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which investigated these cases, decided to investigate the truth in 2023, saying that after their return, they suffered human rights violations due to illegal detention, harsh treatment, and surveillance by investigative agencies and other agencies.

However, on this day, the applicants claimed that although the state violence after their return was identified, the truth about what measures the state took to prevent kidnapping and save the fishermen at the time was not sufficiently investigated.

This is related to the fact that the court did not recognize the violation of the state's duty of protection in the state compensation lawsuit filed by the fishermen who were abducted and returned to North Korea.

In September of this year, the 2nd Civil Division of the Chuncheon Chamber of the Seoul High Court (Chief Judge Shim Young-jin) ruled that liability for compensation in relation to this was not established in the state compensation lawsuit filed by the abducted fishermen and their families who returned to North Korea.

The fishermen who were abducted and returned to North Korea claimed that they were able to fully foresee the danger and rescue the fishermen due to the repeated kidnapping of fishing boats at the time, but the court found it difficult to say that the state had neglected its duty to protect the fishermen, considering maritime defense capabilities and other factors.

The fishermen who were abducted and returned to North Korea on this day requested to investigate how the investigative agencies understand the circumstances of the ship's capture, what risk information the state possessed and security measures taken during the ship's operation, and, if so, what the reasons were for failing to do so.

The purpose is that the Truth and Reconciliation Commission did not determine whether state agencies' response to kidnapping prevention, security, and rescue was appropriate in past investigations of fishermen abducted by North Korea, and liability for compensation is being passively acknowledged.

Choi Jeong-gyu, a lawyer at Wongok Law Firm, said, “There are still views that attribute responsibility for the abductions to the fishermen’s unreasonable fishing,” and urged, “The Truth and Reconciliation Commission must answer the victims’ long-standing question, ‘Where was the country when we were kidnapped?’”