[imText1]There is a growing resentment among the Chinese Koreans due to the extortion of the Huiryeong Customs office, which is known as the gateway from China into North Korea.
Such acts of extortion include demand of high payment, intentional delay of the entrance, extortion of goods for their relatives followed by rejection of entrance, and other illegal activities. Many victims are senior Chinese Koreans trying to visit relatives in North Korea, trying to bring gifts for their relatives. The voice protest is raising among the Korean descendents in Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture.
Such illegal activities of the Huiryeong Customs staff were reported increasingly since last August, and the victims testify that the root cause of the extortion activities is Choi 00, the items inspection staff at the Huiryeong Customs.
Case Report: Mr. Kim who had 10,000Yuan of cash and goods extorted
Mr. Kim of age 71, a Korean descendent Chinese residing in Longjing City, Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture, recently had been preparing for a visit to his relatives living China, thinking that it would be his last visit to North Korea in his life time. He prepared rice, flour, used TV, and used bicycle as gifts for the relatives and collected used clothes in this town. With the money he saved from collecting and selling empty bottles, he prepared for his trip to North Korea last August and passed through Sanhe customs, China.
He arrived at the Huiryeong Customs before everyone else. He, who had more belongings than anybody else, had to go through a long process which did not end even after all the other arrivers entered though inspections.
Staff at the Customs office asked, “Why do you have so many belongings?” and went through all the items. He replied, “I have many relatives in North Korea. I want to share what I have with them before I die.” However, the things were heading to another direction from this point.
There are three inspections in the entrance inspection process of North Korean customs. First, the staff members from the Security Department conduct “political inspection” which is mostly asking questions about the purpose of the trip and the destination of the visitors. They verify whether the visitors have relatives in North Korea for real and then whether or not there is any problem with the border transgression permission they carried from China. The second inspection is “customs inspection” which is mostly of inspection of items and sanitation and medical inspections. The third inspection is “general inspection” conducted by the staff from the military security management department.
Huiryeong Customs Office Staff Demanded for Money from Mr. Kim. Following is Kim’s testimony.
“First, the person who check the permission demanded 80Yuan($9.89) as “political inspection fee.” Then in the process of verification of relatives, the staff member said there is no proof that my sister who lives in North Korea and I are relatives. Although the documents clearly showed that my sister and I had same mother and address of birth, they declared that they cannot verify that we are relatives. When I put a 100 Yuan($12.36) bill on the table, they said, “Pass.”
“Then during the customs inspection, they put some disinfectants on me and asked me of 50Yuan($6.18) on for “sanitation fee.” Then they put some more disinfectants on my belongings and asked for 80Yuan($9.89) more.”
Kim thought until this point, it was part of the inspection process, convinced that they have to make a living in such a way.
However, once the inspection on items started, all the staff at the customs surrounded his belongings. He opened a box and have cookies and drinks to share with them. All the people went back to their place with what they received from him. Then the person who was inspecting Kim’s travel permission offered to take care of his handbag and stole six bottles of “bear’s gall powder.
“The inspections staff said there is something suspicious about my belongings and delayed inspection. They did not even look over all my stuff, but some of them were already taken outside of the building. They asked me whether my relatives were outside waiting for me, and when I answered that they are not, but I can go to see them on my own, they took me to the third floor of the building. They started interrogation threatening me. They said if I don’t answer properly they will put me into jail. It was already almost 7p.m. and was getting dark outside.”
Mr. Kim who was excited to see his relatives have not even had breakfast that day and he was tired.
“I asked back on what items they were suspicious about and when I confronted them saying, “if you want to put me in jail, go ahead,” they brought some papers and told me to put my name. Then they told me to go back to China only with few of the belongings I brought. When I protested and I tried to take back all my belongings, the staff yelled at me and said, “leave all your belongings here and go back your body only.” I had no way to fight back alone and was tired, so I came out of the customs and crossed the bridge back to 중국.”
At the spot he lost 1100Yuan($135.96) in case, 100kg of rice, 120kg of flour, 500 pieces of clothes and underwear, used TV, used bicycle and a used boom box. Altogether 10,000Yuan($1236) worth of cash and goods disappeared in front of his eyes.
Kim went back to the Huiryeong Customs the next day. Although his travel permit was only good for one time visit, the Chinese customs staff made a favor for his unfortunate situation. When he crossed the Huiryeong bridge, the guards stopped him from entering the customs office. Kim sat in front of the iron door of the customs office and shouted “Why are you not returning my belonging? I will report to the Chosun Central Party if you do not return my things.”
“Then came out a person looking like cadre and asked me what happened. When I told him what happened the day before, he told me that the belongings were confiscated because they were of illegal border transgressor. When I asked back if there was proof, another staff member came out and showed me the papers where I put my name the day before.”
“On the papers, where were really nonsense contents written. It said, Kim 00’s Chinese case of 1100 Yuan($135.96) is to be confiscated because it was sent from an illegal border transgressor. About the clothes, it said they are to be confiscated due to negative sanitation state of the items. About the rice, flour, TV, and bicycle, it was stated that they are confiscated because they were unreported items.”
The papers Kim were forced to sign had such contents. In the plan of making an appeal to the North Korean consulate, Kim still keeps the papers with special care.
The staff members of the customs office did not talk to Kim after they handed over him the papers. After protesting for four hours under blazing sun of August, an old man of age 71 had to return back to China with much anger in his heart. Due to so much anger, he laid ill for three weeks after that.
“Chinese cash 10,000Yuan($1236) is enough money for my relatives in North Korea to live comfortably for months. If I am an illegal transgressor, they could have simply told me to return to China. Why would they make me go through so much and take all my belongings? I am angry because I lost all my things to them, but I am more angry at how the people of young age ashamed me at this age. I cannot sleep at night thinking about it.”
