South Korea’s Justice and Unification Ministries said Thursday that there was “no legal basis” for repatriating two North Korean fishermen who defected to the South a day after South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said such a decision constitutes a “crime against humanity”.

Yoo Sang Bum, a People’s Power Party (PPP) deputy, said the ministries concerned have indicated that the North Koreans are not subject to the Immigration Law because they are considered citizens of South Korea once they express their intention to defect.

Thus, the Ministry of Justice has specified that only foreigners can be deported under this legislation. In addition, deportation requires an order from the Minister of Justice, which never came in the case of the fishermen repatriated in 2019, according to Yonhap news agency.

In this regard, the President’s National Security Office would have ordered this repatriation, of which the Ministry of Unification would have been informed after the fact.

“The repatriation carried out by the government of former President Moon Jae In violates the Constitution and South Korean laws and is an abuse of human rights,” said the deputy.

Criticism against the repatriation has increased this week after the government released a series of photographs showing several soldiers forcing North Korean citizens to cross the Military Demarcation Line that separates the two Koreas. Both were blindfolded and had their hands tied.

Many believe that this decision was intended to favor North Korea in an attempt to pave the way for peace and reconciliation.