A defector who acquired South Korean nationality and entered North Korea in secret to collect information on the military and assist North Korean citizens escaping the country, cannot be punished under the National Security Law (NSL) of South Korea.
In a case at Incheon District Court on July 24th a defector was found not guilty of NSL violations. The accused entered North Korea three times in order to assist North Korean citizens to defect to China and to collect information on the North Korean military.
The judge announced in his ruling that the defector’s “secret entrance into North Korea and subsequent contact with North Korean citizens are all recognized as true, but his activities are not so serious that the safety of our country, the basic order of a free, democratic society, and the existence of the nation can possibly be endangered.”
Since arriving in South Korea in 2002, this defector has been discriminated against and has suffered many difficulties. He has also been worrying about his remaining family in North Korea.
In July 2004, he entered North Korea with a digital camera and a mobile phone and bribed a North Korean officer for information on the North Korean military. In August of the same year, he entered again to get information from the same officer. In April, 2007 he entered North Korea again to help citizens escape, and it was on his way back to the South that his activities were revealed and he was accused of violating the National Security Law.
