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February 19, 2009
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| The 64-year-old stepfather of a convicted North Korean spy was acquitted of espionage charges yesterday. The Suwon District Court said in its ruling there is indirect evidence to presume Kim Dong-sun was involved in spying, but that the prosecution had failed to prove the indictment beyond a reasonable doubt. The court also said it cannot completely dismiss Kim’s explanation that the fact he is a North Korean defector allowed him to engage in trade with the North. Upon the acquittal, Kim was immediately freed. Won Jeong-hwa was indicted in April 2008 for a series of National Security Law violations, including using sex to extract confidential military information. The so-called Korean Mata Hari scandal rocked the nation. Won, who identified herself later as an agent of the North’s Ministry of State Security, entered the South by posing as a defector in 2001. Won was convicted last October and sentenced to five years in prison. She did not appeal. Kim, Won’s stepfather, was indicted September last year on charges of posing as a defector and funding her espionage operation. Unlike Won, Kim has denied most of the charges. The prosecution has argued that Kim defected from the North even though he had no reason to do so. Prosecutors also suspected Kim because his family, who had once defected from the North, had voluntarily returned to the communist country, and because he had contacted North Korean officials in China in the course of running his trade business. The court said the suspicions raised by prosecutors are understandable, taking into account the peculiar nature of the situation that North Korean defectors face. Prosecutors said they will review the ruling thoroughly and decide whether or not to appeal. By Ser Myo-ja Staff Reporter [myoja@joongang.co.kr] |
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