Hwang In Cheol, the head of an advocacy group for the victims of the 1969 hijacking of Korean Air Flight YS-11, has filed a lawsuit against one of the alleged abductors, Cho Chang Hee, with the South Korean prosecutor’s office.
In a telephone conversation with Daily NK yesterday, Hwang explained his motivations, saying, “It has been 42 years to the day since 39 of the 50 kidnapping victims were returned to South Korea. I have filed a lawsuit against the abductor in the hope that it will encourage the government to expend further efforts to confirm how many of the remaining 11 are still alive, and have them returned.”
“The perpetrator boarded the plane disguised as a passenger named Han Chang Gi, and until 2006 was included in the government’s official list of the kidnapped,” Hwang explained. “The government has been so disinterested in this case that this name was not even removed from the list until our committee raised the issue.”
Although the government has enacted new legislation pertaining to victims of North Korean kidnappings, Hwang says that the official approach has been too passive.
“The government needs to seek a more effective resolution with the help of the international community,” Hwang said, highlighting the example of the Japanese government, which has long prioritized its own kidnap victims and refuses to normalize relations with North Korea until such time as a satisfactory resolution has been achieved.
Hwang insists that an investigation into the alleged perpetrator would not be fruitless, claiming that “The main issues are of statute and jurisdiction. If the government is intent on protecting one of its citizens then there will be a solution.”
KAL Flight YS-11 was hijacked on December 11, 1969, and flown with 4 crew and 46 passengers to North Korea. On February 14th the following year 39 passengers were returned to South Korea; however, the other 7 passengers as well as the entire crew were kept behind. Prof. Oh Gil Nam has testified that he worked with two of the stewardesses from YS-11 for a propaganda radio broadcaster during his brief time in the North during the 1980s.
