Left wing pastor Han Sang Ryeol faces arrest when he returns from North Korea on or around 15th August, according to prosecutors.
Han went to North Korea on June 12th via Beijing in defiance of a ban on his travel to the country issued by the Ministry of Unification in Seoul. He was due to attend a ceremony in commemoration of the tenth anniversary of the 2000 inter-Korean summit.
Other than the Kaesong Industrial Complex and Mt. Geumgang tourist resort, South Koreans had been banned from visiting North Korea since May 24th in response to the sinking of the Cheonan on March 26th.
According to an anonymous official in the prosecutor’s office, “Since Pastor Han, who did not have the approval of the Ministry of Unification for his trip to Pyongyang, remarked on June 22nd in a press conference that ‘South Korea’s government bears responsibility for the Cheonan situation,’ he is being charged with aiding North Korea.”
“The final decision of the investigation into the illegality of Pastor Han’s speech in North Korea is that it violated the National Security Law,” the official continued, “As and when Pastor Han returns to South Korea, our policy is to arrest him.”
Han is a well-known left wing firebrand in South Korea, partly responsible for not only instigating protests against the presence of U.S. military in South Korea, but also demonstrations against the opening of the South Korean market to U.S. beef in 2008.
