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Park Jung-oh (right), chairperson of the North Korean defector group Keun Saem (“Big Spring”), with his lawyer following a hearing at the Ministry of Unification on revoking the non-profit status of defector groups on June 29. (Baek So-ah, staff photographer)

The Ministry of Unification (MOU) announced on June 29 that it had completed its hearings on the question of revoking the non-profit status for the North Korean defector groups Fighters for Free North Korea (FFNK, chairperson Park Sang-hak) and Keun Saem (“Big Spring,” chairperson Park Jung-oh), which have been using large balloons and plastic water bottles to disseminate propaganda leaflets in North Korea.

“Keun Saem Chairperson Park Jung-oh participated in the hearing procedures with his attorney and presented his opinion,” the ministry said.

“We plan to carefully examine the opinion submitted by Big Spring and reflect it in our measures,” it added.

The MOU went on to say that FFNK Chairperson Park Sang-hak “abstained from the hearings without legitimate grounds, and there was no separate submission of opinions [from his group].”

“We have completed hearing procedures in accordance with Article 35 of the Administrative Procedures Act, and we plan to begin the relevant procedures after first confirming whether any additional documents or materials are to be submitted,” it said.

Lee Heon, an attorney representing Park Jung-oh, told reporters after the hearing’s conclusion that he planned to “actively fight through validity suspension procedures or an administrative lawsuit if [his group’s] permit is revoked.” Park Sang-hak and Park Jung-oh are brothers who both defected from North Korea.

Barring any unforeseen developments, MOU’s revocation of the two group’s corporation establishment licenses is expected to take place as early as mid-July. In a regular press conference that day, MOU Spokesperson Yoh Sang-key said, “The process involves allowing the groups to see the items that emerged from the hearing as stakeholders and hear their opinions again to see if there are any objections, after which the administrative measure goes ahead.”

If the MOU does revoke the two group’s establishment licenses, the National Tax Service (NTS) will exclude them from its list of designated donation fundraising groups, which will prevent them from raising funds from the public.

“If the two group’s MOU registration is cancelled, their status as designated donation fundraising groups will be removed, and they will no longer be able to carry out official fundraising activities,” Yoh said.

By Lee Je-hun, senior staff writer

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