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

A lawsuit by an attorneys’ group to determine whether 12 staff from a North Korean restaurant in China were forcibly detained after defecting to South Korea in Apr. 4 was thrown out on Sept. 12.

Judge Lee Yeong-je of the 32nd criminal division of Seoul Central District Court ruled to dismiss the habeas corpus suit filed by the group MINBYUN-Lawyers for a Democratic Society against the National Intelligence Service (NIS) on the grounds that the habeas corpus request had been made by a party without authority to do so.

“From the photographs presented by MINBYUN, it is impossible to confirm that the ‘parents’ in the North and the waitresses who fled the North Korean restaurant are family relations,” Lee gave as grounds for the dismissal.

Article 3 of the Habeas Corpus Act stated that habeas corpus requests may be filed only by people who meet certain conditions, namely the individual in question, family members, and legal representatives and guardians.

MINBYUN claimed the court acted unjustly in moving to dismiss the case without ever questioning the staff directly. “Even though the NIS refused to allow the waitresses who

defected to appear in court, the court did not take any additional steps to confirm their own intentions regarding appearing,” said attorney Kim Yong-min. “It also didn’t make any effort to confirm the family relationship [with the North Koreans shown in the photographs presented as evidence].”

MINBYUN filed the habeas corpus suit in May to determine whether the staff were staying at the North Korean Defector Protection Center of their own free will after entering South Korea.

By Heo Jae-hyun, staff reporter

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