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Voluntary Escape? Lured-out Abduct? Civic Organizations Insist Truth Ascertainment at Emergency Gathering, Demanding “Family-and-Attorney Consultation Permit for Suspicion Resolve

67 civic organizations (the Emergency Gathering of the Civic Organizations) , which gathered for the suspicion resolve and swift settlement of “the possible pre-plotted escape case of a North Korean overseas restaurant employees”, held a press conference on May 13 before the Ministry of Unification and demanded that ◁the authorities concerned release the employees’ free opinions on the case, ◁guarantee their family and attorney consultations, ◁resolve the suspicion of the National Intelligence Service intervention on the case, ◁clarify the rumor of one employee’s death during their protest fast and ◁hold a meeting of the South-North authorities concerned for the case settlement.

The Emergency Gathering of the Civic Organizations raised questions concerning that ◁the employees’ passports had been prepared in advance so they could come to South Korea only over one-night travel, ◁the South Korean authorities concerned announced their escape, unusually, only one day after their entry, ◁the authorities concerned rejected to hold a press conference proving their escape was upon their own free decision and that ◁there is a suspicion that the restaurant manager Mr. Heo (who led the group escape) might have been bought off through pre-plotting.

The Civic Organizations also made a protest against the authorities (which had not been presenting the employees, saying, for their safety concern and others) and insisted, “The family members of Mr. Kim Man Cheol held a public press conference in 1989 after their escape, and so did the family of Mr. Kim, Kyung Ho in 1996. There also was an interview where the authorities invited press-people, at the Center for Those Who Escaped North Korea [managed by the National Intelligence Service] in 2014.”

Attorney Chae Hee Jun, member of the Lawyers for Democratic Society, said, “The Lawyers for Democratic Society will try to have a consultation with the escapers, this coming 16th , 2 o’clock in the afternoon, at the Center for Those Who Escaped North Korea at Jonam-dong, Siheung-city. I believe the National Intelligence Service and the authorities will permit the lawyer consultation.”

The Emergency Gathering of Civic Organizations also urged that the authorities accept the demand of the North Korean authorities for the meeting of the escapers and their families, insisting, “How frustrated and furious the parents must be feeling now, who lost their children just overnight, absolutely not knowing what had happened at all? It is the way of Heaven as well as the way of man to have them meet their daughters like yesterday. That the Korean government issued the employees their Korean passports means that the employees do have the right to be protected by the Korean government and society. If everything the authorities announced before the general election in April is true, there should not be any reason why the authorities cannot let ‘the escapers’ go public before the Korean citizens. The Korean government should get rid of all suspicions, not to mention the embers of South-North conflicts.”

‘The case of a North Korean overseas restaurant employees’ possible pre-plotted escape’ started out when the Korean government announced their ‘group escape’ on the 8th of April, 5 days before the general election. The authorities concerned stressed the restriction on North Korea, saying, “The manager and 12 employees of Ryugyung restaurant in Zhejian, China, escaped to South Korea, ‘upon their free-will’. This shows the actual effect of the restriction on North Korea.” Yet, after 4 days, the Northern Choseon Red Cross insisted that the case was “a lured-out abduction pre-plotted by the (South Korean) National Intelligence Service.” The Ministry of Unification, via the announcement of the spokesperson, refuted it, saying, “The contrived insist of North Korea has no meaning deserving any comment.” Yet the controversy has not been cooled down.

On the 18th of April, the parents of the female employees sent a letter to the UN Human Rights Council and appealed ‘to help our daughters come back to their parents’ bosom.’ On the same day CNN released an interview of another employee of Ryugyung restaurant who insisted, “My coworkers have been abducted.” On 21st, the Northern Choseon Red Cross sent a notice to the Korean Red Cross that they would send the employees’ families to Seoul, but the Ministry of Unification denied it, saying that the Ministry would not accept the Northern request for the family meeting. Later, on the 28th, the Northern Committee for the Peaceful Unification of Homeland announced, “The (South Korean) National Intelligence Service bought off the manager Mr. Heo, paying off his debt, 1.5 million Chinese Yuan. He deceived the other female employees saying that they were going to go visit another overseas restaurant which had just opened in another country. He had received their South Korean passports and airline tickets in Malaysia which the (South Korean) National Intelligence Service had prepared in advance and led the employees to South Korea,” explaining and insisting the procedure of their way out in quite a detail.

“The case of a North Korean overseas restaurant employees is a planned escape through pre-plotting,” says Ms. Kim

Related to the case, Min[people]Plus recently met Ms. Ryun Hee Kim, the only ‘escaper’ who has openly been demanding repatriation to North Korea, to listen to her own experience of ‘escaping’ to South Korea. She is now at a hospital for helatocirrhosis (liver hardening) treatment.

“In June, 2011, my belly got filled with water due to liver hardening. I left Pyongyang for Dandong to get treatment, where my cousin sister was living. The fee for one week treatment was the same as her one month salary. I felt sorry for her, so I called someone who had been nice enough to help me since I had arrived in Dandong on bus. He found me a job but the wage was way far from enough for the treatment. He told me that I could earn enough money for the treatment if I worked three months in South Korea. And he did all the administrative work for me to go to South Korea. Yet in Malaysia, we, 7 persons, received South Korean passports but he took our North Korean passports. We recognized he was ‘a broker’ only right before our arrival in South Korea. We did want to go back, but our North Korean passports had already been taken away.”

This absurd situation went on even after they arrived in South Korea.

“I was imprisoned in a solitary confinement at the Center for Those Who Escaped North Korea, which the National Intelligence Service is managing. They interrogated me three whole months on whether I was a spy. I was consistently demanding to send me back to North Korea from the first day I arrived in South Korea. I really needed the treatment for my worsening liver problem, but I could not have any consultation with anyone at all. Six including myself were transferred to ‘Hanawon’ after three months, but one stayed at the Center for six months. Mr. Gwon who came to South Korea with me is now in Chungju prison for the charge of espionage.”

Ms. Ryun Hee Kim also said, regarding the currently controversial possibly pre-plotted escape case, “It is not possible to enter the Korean territory on April 7 if you leave on April 5 unless it is prepared through pre-plotting. You have to possess the Korean passport to come into Korea from Malaysia.” After asking, “Who do you think issued them the Korean passports?” Ms. Kim affirmed, “It is a planned escape case through pre-plotting.”

By Kang Hoseok sonkang114@gmail.com

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