S.Korean prosecutors raid Presidential Archives for records on N.Korean fishermen's repatriation

ANKARA (AA) - South Korean authorities on Friday raided the Presidential Archives to search for documents relating to two North Korean fishermen who confessed to killing 16 of their fellow crew members in a bid to defect to South Korea during the previous government, local media said.

The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office raided the archives in the central administrative city of Sejong to look for clues in the repatriation case three years ago, Yonhap News Agency reported, citing an official as a source of information.

All records of the previous administration were transferred to the archives on May 9, when former President Moon Jae-in was leaving office after completion of his tenure.

President Yoon Suk Yeol, who took over from Moon in May of this year, has begun an investigation into the 2019 repatriation of the two North Korean fishermen.

The two men caught in the East Sea in November 2019 confessed to killing 16 of their coworkers in an attempt to flee to South Korea.

The then-South Korean government, however, returned them to Pyongyang.

*Writing by Islamuddin Sajid