hankyoreh

May 7.

Detectives from the National Intelligence Service (NIS) and the Security Investigative Team of the National Policy Agency (NPA) raided nineteen places, including the South Korea branch office of the Pan-Korean Alliance for Reunification (PKAR), on charges of violating the National Security Law on Thursday.

It was reported that the NIS arrested six persons including Lee Kyu-jae, 73 years old and chairman of PKAR’s South Korea branch, and searched their headquarters located in the Namyoung neighborhood of Seoul. It is the first time in six years, since Professor Song Du-yul’s case in 2003, the NIS has directly involved itself in the investigation of a security matter.

At 6:30 a.m. of the same day, detectives from the NIS and NPA raided twelve houses of PKAR senior members, six offices of PKAR, and the company that has managed PKAR’s email. The NIS says that they are analyzing hard discs, accounting records and publications that they secured during the raid.

The NIS also arrested three PKAR senior members, and three senior members of the South Korean branch of the All-Korean Committee for Implementation of the 6.15 Joint Declaration. The NIS says that it is investigating them both for whether they have communicated with North Korean without the South Korean government’s permission or praised North Korea in their publications.

The Director of PKAR’s South Korean branch says, “We have visited North Korea with the permission of the Unification Ministry and published our magazine, ‘The way of nation,’ for ten years without problems.” The PKAR issued a statement later that day, calling the raid a form of suppression against the unification movement.

Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]