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The old and the new powers clashed last weekend over the decision to repatriate North Korean fishermen from North Korea in 2019.

It was triggered when former Chief of the National Security Office, Chung Eui-yong, who was then head of the Blue House National Security Office, made a statement.



Correspondent Kim Min-jung.



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Five days after the photos of North Korean defectors repatriated to North Korea were released, former National Security Director Chung Eui-yong issued a statement saying that the decision in 2019 was justified.



During the joint interrogation process, they detailed the details of their crimes, including the murder of the captain and 16 fellow crew members, and stipulated that "the heinous criminals are neither defectors nor defectors."



He said the contents of the confession were also consistent with the intelligence obtained by the military at the time.



The handwritten letter of intent to defection submitted during the interrogation process was evaluated as lack of sincerity based on the fact that she was captured while repeatedly fleeing near the NLL and that she did not reveal her intention to defect before the newspaper.



Jeong said that it was the best decision he made for the protection of the people in accordance with laws and procedures as a public official. Rather, he counterattacked that the special prosecutor and the state investigation should find out why the current government overturned the existing judgment.



Then, in the presidential office, the head of public relations went directly to the briefing.



Chief Choi Young-beom defined Jeong's rebuttal as a political offensive and said that he should cooperate with the investigation of the ongoing accusation.



At that time, the Moon Jae-in government said that it did not go through a sufficient investigation, and that the verification process, which normally takes one to two months, was completed within two to three days, he said.



He also pointed out that at the time of the civil servant incident in the West Sea in 2020, the signal information, that is, the SI, was left unattended for a long time to prevent the killing, but in 2019, the SI was used wisely to deal with North Korean fishermen and was regarded as a heinous criminal.



Regarding the special prosecutor and the state investigation, he said, "There is no reason to avoid it if the ruling and opposition parties agree."