Rep. Han Ki-ho, who leads a PPP task force on national security incidents involving the previous administration, speaks during a task force meeting at the National Assembly in Seoul, July 20. Yonhap

A lawmaker of the ruling People Power Party (PPP) claimed Wednesday that the preceding Moon Jae-in administration falsely accused two North Korean fishermen of killing 16 fellow crew members before repatriating them in 2019.

The alleged killings were the main reason behind the Moon administration's decision to send the North Koreans back to their homeland, where they could face harsh punishment, even though they had expressed a desire to defect to South Korea.

Rep. Han Ki-ho, who leads a PPP task force on national security incidents involving the previous administration, claimed that the North Koreans had actually planned to help 16 people from five households in the North's northeastern city of Kimchaek flee to South Korea.

"The two were set to guide the 16 people to the South on a fishing vessel but fled when they realized they were being arrested," Han said during a task force meeting at the National Assembly, citing accounts from a North Korean defectors he did not identify.