Chung Eui-yong, former national security adviser during the Moon Jae-in government, enters Seoul Central District Court in Seoul, Wednesday. Yonhap

Four ministerial-level officials of the previous administration were found guilty, Wednesday, of repatriating two North Korean fishermen in 2019 despite their pleas to stay in South Korea.

Judges at the Seoul Central District Court gave 10-month deferred sentences to Chung Eui-yong, former national security adviser, and to Suh Hoon, former director of the spy agency, for their roles in sending the fishermen back to the North apparently against their will.

Two other officials — Noh Young-min, former presidential chief of staff, and Kim Yeon-chul, former unification minister — were also found guilty of taking part in the implementation and given six-month prison sentences deferred for two years.

A deferred sentence is given to a person who committed a light offense. If the person fulfills certain stipulations required by the court, the court throws out the sentence after two years.

"The decision to deport them was made quickly based on their confessions, even though it would require a thorough legal consideration. The decision was made in just two days and they were sent back in five days," the court said.

But the court added that there were no clear rules or legal system they could refer to in order to make a decision in such cases.

South Korean officials hold a North Korean fisherman as they try to hand him over to North Korean officials at the inter-Korean truce village of Panmunjeom, Nov. 7, 2019. Courtesy of Ministry of Unification

This verdict comes two years after the officials under the Moon Jae-in administration were indicted on charges of ordering the forced repatriation.

On Nov. 2, 2019, the fishermen's vessel drifted into South Korean territorial waters where the Republic of Korea Navy captured them. After a brief investigation as to why they crossed the sea border, South Korean officials concluded that they had murdered 16 of their crewmates and were fleeing justice. On Nov. 5, the officials informed the regime in North Korea of their intention to send them back.

Two days later, the South Korean officials handed the fishermen over to their counterparts at the inter-Korean truce village of Panmunjeom. The next day, their boat — a key piece of evidence of their alleged killings — was also sent back.

All this was meant to be done in secret, but it came to light, thanks to a photojournalist who captured a security official's text message about the matter on Nov. 7, which eventually led to an investigation.

Much information about the deportation case had been kept hidden during Moon's time in office before being disclosed in July 2022 under the Yoon Suk Yeol administration.

The release of images showing the North Korean fishermen desperately resisting the attempt to deport them shocked many human rights activists here and in other countries. They seemed obviously gripped by fear as South Korean officials handed them over to their North Korean counterparts. It happened at a time when the liberal Moon administration was stepping up efforts to promote peace with North Korea.