South Korean prosecutors have indicted four senior security officials of former President Moon Jae-in's administration over the deportation of two North Korean fishermen who had sought asylum.

The four, including former national security adviser Chung Eui-yong and former National Intelligence Service chief Suh Hoon, were indicted but not detained on charges such as abuse of authority.

The prosecutors say the officials ordered the forced repatriation of the fishermen without going through the necessary legal procedures.

In 2019, under the Moon administration, South Korea deported two men who had been captured in the Sea of Japan. They were alleged to have killed 16 fellow crew members on a fishing boat and therefore could not be taken into South Korea's care.

Since President Yoon Suk-yeol took office, South Korean prosecutors have been investigating a number of cases involving senior government officials under Moon. In December, the former intelligence chief and others were indicted but not detained in a separate case involving North Korea in 2020.