The Unification Ministry said on the 2nd that remittances by North Korean defectors to family members in the North should take into account "humanitarian issues."
An official at the Unification Ministry said at Government Complex Seoul that day, regarding a recent not-guilty verdict on a North Korean defector's remittance to the North, that "legal issues and humanitarian issues should be considered in a balanced manner."
Earlier, on the 28th, the Seoul Northern District Court acquitted a North Korean defector, identified as A, who was tried on charges of violating the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act. A played the role of a "broker" for remittances to family members remaining in the North by defectors.
Earlier, prosecutors indicted A, saying that sending money to family members in North Korea constituted "engaging in a foreign exchange transaction business without registration" under the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act.
An official at the Unification Ministry explained, "The money that defectors send to their family members remaining in the North is about living expenses, but for now there is no law to regulate this, so some were indicted under the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act."
Successive administrations had turned a blind eye to simple family remittances with no signs of espionage, but in 2023 investigations were conducted across the country, and defectors were brought to trial one after another on charges of violating the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act.
Meanwhile, before the not-guilty verdict by the Seoul Northern District Court, most cases resulted in guilty rulings. First-instance judgments were understood to be suspended fines or summary orders imposing fines.