North Korea has issued a special order to launch full-scale reinvestigations of unfair and cruel punishments from the Unified Command on Non-Socialist and Anti-Socialist Behavior’s past crackdowns. This appears to be a symbolic measure to improve public opinion as authorities seek a political turning point in this final year of the Eighth Party Congress and the 80th anniversary of the ruling party’s founding.
“The Secretariat of the Central Committee issued an order early this month to completely reinvestigate cases where the Unified Command on Non-Socialist and Anti-Socialist Behavior had unfairly punished people since 2021,” a Daily NK source in North Korea said recently. “A joint investigation group comprising officials from the Central Committee’s Organization and Guidance Department and the Ministry of State Security launched on June 7, and since June 12 has toured major cities to examine cases of unfair punishments.”
Joint investigation targets three key regions
According to the source, the joint investigation group will tour major cities including Pyongyang, Nampo, Pyongsong, Sariwon, Haeju and Wonsan for two or three months, confirming and reinvestigating unfair punishments by the Unified Command. It will also assess public sentiment in those cities and whether foreign materials have infiltrated their societies.
The team is currently focused on three regions—Pyongyang, Sariwon and Haeju—with plans to expand its probe to areas along the North Korea-China border.
The group is investigating whether people who turned themselves in were cruelly punished and whether socially vulnerable groups like teenagers faced unfair crackdowns.
It will also examine whether Unified Command officials accepted career favors or bribes from law enforcement agencies such as police, state security bodies or prosecutors during their yearly replacements, and whether officials unfairly executed the law or misused their authority to overlook crimes by specific individuals.
“The joint investigation group is meeting personally with relatives of reeducation camp inmates who filed complaints or petitions demanding reinvestigations, claiming their loved ones were unfairly punished,” the source said. “It is considering choosing cases that require reinvestigation, informing the reeducation camps and taking steps to reinvestigate based on the potential for ‘model rehabilitation.'”
On the ground, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s early-administration philosophy that authorities “should believe people if they have at least 0.1% of a conscience, even if they committed crimes against the nation” has resurfaced.
Restoring trust ahead of party anniversary
The current effort seeks to restore public trust in the party and law enforcement agencies by addressing past legal mistakes ahead of the 80th anniversary of the ruling party’s founding.
“The relatives of reeducation camp inmates who met with the joint investigation group were overwhelmed with emotion and even cried, saying, ‘Thank you for the party’s embrace,'” the source said. “By appearing to correct law enforcement officials’ past mistakes, the authorities are improving public opinion.”
The group has also examined cases where teenagers were harshly punished for watching South Korean videos and other foreign content to determine whether they were excessively penalized, gauging the feelings of teenagers—who are sensitive to outside information—and their parents.
“Seeing the party step in directly to correct injustices, parents are sending floods of appeals, while some feel relieved,” the source said. “People are reacting well because the authorities are closely examining how people feel.”
