Police investigating Lippert attacker’s N. Korea-related activities

Posted on : 2015-03-09 15:51 KST Modified on : 2019-10-19 20:29 KST
Attacker appears to have acted without support, but police checking whether he “praised” North Korea
Police take books and documents from the offices of Woori Madang during a search and seizure operation as part of their investigation into Kim Ki-jong
Police take books and documents from the offices of Woori Madang during a search and seizure operation as part of their investigation into Kim Ki-jong

 alleged attacker of US Ambassador Mark Lippert
alleged attacker of US Ambassador Mark Lippert

Police investigating possible motives and support in Kim Ki-jong’s stabbing attack against US ambassador to South Korea Mark Lippert are focusing on proving violations of the National Security Law.

The security law-related charges again Kim, 55, appear intended as a stepping stone at a time when President Park Geun-hye and the ruling Saenuri Party are clamoring for an investigation of possible accomplices.

Police announced on Mar. 8 that they had requested an expert examination for thirty books and other items “suspected of possible enemy aid” among 219 personal effects of Kim’s seized on Mar. 6. The items included a copy of “On the Art of the Cinema” by late North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, other North Korea-related pamphlets, the publication “Course of the Nation” by the South Korean headquarters of the Pan-Korean Alliance for Reunification (PKAR), and a book titled “Lectures on Political Philosophy” with content about North Korea’s juche ideology.

Police explained that they had requested the examination from a university research institution with master’s and doctoral-level students of North Korean studies.

Police are also investigating reconstructed information erased from Kim’s computer storage devices and mobile phone.

“Depending on what the examination of confiscated items turn up, we plan to apply changes of Security Law violations and deliver Mr. Kim to prosecutors sometime around Mar. 15,” the police said.

The discovery of North Korean books and juche-related pamphlets means the police are also actively considering charging Kim with possession of “printed matter aiding the enemy” and praise and encouragement of North Korea according to the National Security Law.

A book is recognized as “aiding the enemy” if it is published by a group considered in aid of North Korea - as PKAR is - and contains “active and aggressive threats to the existence, security, and system of the Republic of Korea.” While “Course of the Nation” is a regular publication, the edition published just after Kim Jong-il’s death has been deemed by South Korean courts as aiding the enemy.

Rather than simply charging Kim with possessing material aiding the enemy, police are now focusing their investigation on proving the goals of inciting an uprising and praising, encouraging, and/or assisting North Korea. The reason for this is the difficulty of punishing Kim if he claims to have simply acquired the documents for research purposes. Former Solidarity for Peace and Reunification of Korea (SPARK) secretary-general Oh Hye-ran was indicted for possession of material aiding the enemy, but acquitted by the courts in her first and second trials. The judges in the cases recognized Oh’s goals as research-oriented, noting the differences between her views and those of Pyongyang, as well as her criticisms of North Korea.

Kim, who wrote a master‘s thesis in 1996 titled “Tasks for the South Korean Unification Cultural Movement,” claims he acquired the North Korea-related materials to research reunification. Police are now focusing on Kim’s actions during his seven visits to North Korea and the circumstances behind his attempts to set up a memorial altar for Kim Jong-il in 2011 in an attempt to prove a Pyongyang connection.

Some analysts said the stabbing act against Lippert could be read as having greater intent to “aid the enemy” than Kim’s past activities.

“The National Security Law is vague, and there have been many cases of arbitrary interpretations,” said Lee Gwang-cheol, an attorney with the group MINBYUN-Lawyers for a Democratic Society. “So there’s a strong chance the attack on a US ambassador could be recognized as intended to aid the enemy.”

Police are also investigating Kim’s communications and bank deposits and withdrawals for evidence of possible accomplices or supporters. Conservative news outlets have been focusing on Kim’s appearances with other groups at press conferences opposing joint South Korea-US military exercises.

But acquaintances of Kim were skeptical of the likelihood of organized support, noting that he was highly unpredictable and appeared to have mental problems. Kim, for his part, has insisted that he acted alone, saying he “thought that morning [of the attack] that I ought to bring a fruit knife with me.” The nature of the crime itself leads to serious questions about whether some kind of support was involved.

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By Lee Kyung-mi and Kim Kyu-nam, staff reporters

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

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