Vietnam Extradition Request Refused

A South Korean court has decided to refuse the extradition of the prime Vietnamese suspect of the bombing of Vietnamese embassy in Thailand.

A court in Seoul stated on July 27 on the extradition of Chanh Huu Nguyen (57), “We will not permit the extradition of Chanh.” This is the first court decision on a political criminal in the history of the constitution.

The court said, “The crime of Chanh applies to 13 clauses such as terrorist bombing, but the treaty between Korea and Vietnam or domestic law allows us to refuse.”

The court added, “Vietnam did not join the international treaty to prevent terrorist acts that allows the extradition of criminals, nor did the UN Security Council stipulate the specific duties for extradition” and did not accept the prosecutor’s explanation that Chanh was an exception. Because the court decision could not be repealed, Chanh was released from jail at around 5:00 p.m. yesterday.

The decision to refuse the extradition at the request of a foreign government is unprecedented. The decision was based on the basic principal of international law instead of considering the economic and diplomatic relations between Korea and Vietnam. Some voices are being raised as to the friction between the Korean and Vietnamese government. The Vietnamese government had taken extraordinary measures including sending its president’s personal letter to Cheong Wa Dae on May, calling for the extradition of Chanh.

But a Foreign Ministry official reported that relations between Korea and Vietnam were based on other variables, and are seen as not likely to be affected only due to the extradition ruling.

Ji-Seong Jeon wiseweb@donga.com verso@donga.com