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 legal team with MINBYUN-Lawyers for a Democratic Society that was organized to file a habeas corpus petition for female employees at a North Korean restaurant in China who defected to South Korea is still moving forward with the habeas corpus petition it filed with the Seoul Central District Court in May. The legal team has also lodged a petition with the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), claiming that their rights as lawyers were infringed when South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) refused to allow them to interview the women.

According to multiple sources with MINBYUN who spoke with the Hankyoreh on Sept. 2, MINBYUN filed a complaint involving Hon. Lee Yeong-jae (presiding over criminal division No. 32 of the Seoul Central District Court) to be recused from duty immediately after Lee heard the habeas corpus petition for the 12 female defectors on June 21, but their petition was dismissed. Since then, MINBYUN has been taking steps to file another habeas corpus petition.

On Aug. 31, the NIS asked the court to reject the complaint, submitting an official document via its legal counsel claiming that all 12 of the female defectors have already been released from the North Korean Defector Protection Center, which is managed by the NIS. The judge will soon be determining whether to dismiss the complaint or to hear it. No date has been set for the next hearing.

In related news, the MINBYUN legal team submitted an emergency petition on Aug. 22 to the United Nations Human Rights Council’s special rapporteur for the independence of judges and lawyers and the special rapporteur for human rights defenders. MINBYUN contends that the legal team’s rights were gravely infringed by the NIS’s refusal to allow it to meet the female defectors and by the court’s failure to take the minimum steps to have the detained individuals appear in court and to confirm their safety.

MINBYUN also argues that the UN’s basic guidelines for the role of lawyers are not being followed. The guidelines state that no one can be prevented from receiving legal assistance and that lawyers must be guaranteed access to information while doing their work.

The MINBYUN legal team explained that it had asked the UN special rapporteurs to recommend that the South Korean government take steps to conform to international standards. The team also asked the special rapporteurs to issue a statement to the press drawing attention to these violations of international standards and asking the government to rectify the violations.

By Kim Jin-cheol, staff reporter

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