hankyoreh

Civic group members demanding the repatriation of North Korean defector Kim Ryon-hui demonstration outside the Seoul Police headquarters in the Jongno District of Seoul on Dec. 12. (by Lim Jae-woo

Kim Ryon-hui, a 48-year-old defector from North Korea who has asked to return home, was questioned by police on charges of violating the National Security Act. Kim, who describes herself as a “citizen of Pyongyang,” has claimed to have been “tricked by a defection broker” into coming to South Korea.

On the morning of Dec. 12, Kim held a press conference with the civic group Association Urging the Repatriation of Pyongyang Citizen Kim Ryon-hui in front of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s security investigation office in Seoul’s Ogin neighborhood to criticize the police investigation. The press conference, which took place just before Kim’s questioning by police, includes calls for her swift repatriation.

Police are currently investigating Kim on charges of violating National Security Act prohibitions on praise and incitement of anti-government organizations. In a 2015 interview with the Hankyoreh, Kim referred to Kim Il-sung as “like one of my parents.” In Apr. 2016, she posted videos commemorating the Day of the Sun (the anniversary of the birth of Kim Il-sung) and a song of praise for him to her Facebook account. Police are also investigating Kim’s Feb. 2016 visit to the Vietnamese embassy in South Korea to ask for assistance in returning to the North as a violation of National Security Act provisions against infiltration and escape.

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During the press conference, Kim criticized the police investigation as “unjust” and asked to be sent back to North Korea.

“I don’t think it should be a crime for anyone to say they love their country. This investigation is a use of the National Security Act for political suppression and cannot be accepted,” she said.

“I am a citizen of Pyongyang,” a tearful Kim continued. “I can’t understand this country keeping me away from my husband and daughter and parents for seven years. Please send me back now to the arms of my family who love me.”

Kim went for police questioning shortly after the press conference, but left the security investigation building 20 minutes later after refusing to answer questions.

“I asserted to right to remain silent under police questioning,” she said in a telephone interview with the Hankyoreh after questioning.

“Is it a crime to love the homeland you were born and raised in? I will never give in,” Kim insisted.

Jang Gyeong-wook, an attorney with the group MINBYUN-Lawyers for a Democratic Society who accompanied Kim in her questioning, planned to meet that afternoon with visiting UN Special Rapporteur on North Korean human rights Ojea Quintana to share views on the police investigation.

“This situation today shows how we are caught in the framework of the National Security Act,” Jang said, adding that he planned to “alert Mr. Quintana to the injustice of the investigation.”

In Apr. 2015, Kim Ryon-hui was sentenced to two years in prison suspended for three years on charges of meeting and correspondence according to the National Security Act for calling a North Korean consulate in China. During the trial, Kim claimed to have called North Korea to “inform them of my detention,” but her argument was not accepted by the court.

By Lim Jae-woo, staff reporter

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