hankyoreh

Lawyers from MINBYUN-Lawyers for a Democratic Society hold a press conference in front of the North Korean Defector Protection Center in Siheung

A human rights protection official with the National Intelligence Service (NIS) center for protection of North Korean defectors confirmed meeting with 12 women who are undergoing questioning there after defecting en masse from a North Korean restaurant in China where they worked.

The individual meetings on May 14 took place the day after the group MINBYUN-Lawyers for a Democratic Society filed a related request with the NIS.

“All 13 of the defectors [including one male manager] are healthy and showed no problems,” attorney Park Yeong-sik told the Hankyoreh in an exclusive interview on May 19. Park has working as a human rights officer for the protection center - formerly the joint questioning center - since Apr. 2015.

According to Park, reports of hunger strikes, including one leading to an employee’s death by starvation, are false.

“I had one-on-one meetings with the 12 employees all day on May 14 at the NIS’s request immediately after MINBYUN’s request, and all of them said they did not wish to contact MINBYUN,” Park added.

As a human rights protection officer, Park pays weekly visits to the center. He did not mention whether he had met with any of the defectors prior to May 14.

In addition to Park, the center also has two attorneys working full-time to assist him.

“The restaurant staff especially wanted people to ‘forget about’ them,” Park added.

The message appears to reflect a mixture of discomfort with the public attention in the wake of Seoul’s unusual decision to announce their group defection five days before the Apr. 13 general elections - prompting allegations the defection had been orchestrated by the NIS - and fear that their identities could be leaked.

“Whether this was a planned defection with institutional involvement or a voluntary decision on their part, now that they’re here their biggest concern is going to be settling in South Korea,” said another defector who arrived in the South four years ago. “They’re also going to be very concerned about their family members in the North.”

The defectors have reportedly had access to reports from domestic news outlets while undergoing questioning at the center.

Despite their reported refusal of assistance, MINBYUN has continued following procedures to meet with the defectors. The group’s position is that the confirmation of a third party free from the influence of South or North Korean governments is needed to verify that the 12 women entered of their own free will.

MINBYUN currently plans to submit a quasi-appeal to Seoul Central District Court and attempt an administrative lawsuit to overturn the NIS’s refusal of its request for a meeting with the defectors. It also reported confirmation through its own channels that the North Korean parents of the defectors wish to entrust it with power of attorney for all activities involving them, including meetings. MINBYUN began the procedure of officially acquiring power of attorney through the relevant international organizations.

By Kim Jin-cheol, staff reporter

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