Refer Report

Ha Yeon-ho, head of the Jeonbuk People’s Movement, who was in court on charges of having been in contact with North Korean figures for several years, was sentenced to probation in the first trial.

On the 30th, the 11th Criminal Division of Jeonju District Court (Presiding Judge Kim Sang-gon) sentenced Representative Ha, who was indicted on charges of violating the National Security Act, to 6 months in prison, 6 months of suspension, and 1 year of probation for charges prior to November 27, 2015, and 1 year of probation for charges prior to November 27, 2015. For the charges, he was sentenced to one year in prison, one year of suspension, and two years of probation.

Representative Ha was sentenced to probation on November 27, 2015 for violating the law on assemblies and protests. For that reason, the court sentenced the offenders separately for crimes committed before the verdict and for crimes committed after the final verdict.

The court said, “The defendant claimed that he did not know the true nature of North Korean agents and that he met with pure motives for the purpose of the peasant movement and the peaceful unification movement, but looking at the terms and methods used in the exchanged emails, we do not accept the claim that he was unaware of the true nature of the North Korean agents. “He said.

He continued, “If you look at the emails sent and received by the defendant, they are in the form of reporting information on trends within the Republic of Korea, but there is no content about problems within North Korea for unification or measures to improve human rights in North Korea,” adding, “It is a way to avoid tracking by investigative agencies.” “If you look at the means and methods, such as gathering together, I don’t know if it can be seen as an activity with pure motivation or purpose,” he said.

The court found Representative Ha guilty of meeting North Korean agents overseas, scheduling meetings via email, and providing information using a password. However, other than that, routine greetings, group movements, and exchanges of political opinions could not be considered to have posed a real threat to the Republic of Korea, so the suspect was found not guilty.

Representative Ha was indicted on charges of meeting with agents from the North Korean Cultural Exchange Bureau in Hanoi, Vietnam, Beijing, Changsha, and Zhangjiajie from 2013 to 2019. Prosecutors previously requested eight years in prison for Representative Ha.

Civil society groups in the Jeonbuk region held a press conference in front of Jeonju District Court after the sentencing and said, “The Yoon Seok-yeol regime must stop suppressing public security and abolish the National Security Act.” The organization said, “We cannot tolerate the Yoon Seok-yeol regime, which oppresses civil activists by applying the anti-democratic and anti-human rights National Security Act to escape a political crisis,” and added, “With this ruling, it has been confirmed that the National Security Act is an evil law that must be consigned to history.” He said.

Representative Ha said, “It is being proven that the Yoon Seok-yeol regime cannot be maintained without the National Security Act,” and added, “Only when civil society activists step forward will future generations be able to live in a more peaceful and equal world. “Let’s move forward together,” he said.

This incident came to light on November 9, 2022, when the National Intelligence Service searched and seized eight members of social organizations in Jeonbuk, Jeju, and Gyeongnam.

Reporter Cheon Gyeong-seok 1000press@hani.co.kr

Source: Korean