Lee Jae-myung: "Getting Paid to Distribute Leaflets? Absolutely Unforgivable Act"

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung expressed outrage over the revelation by defector Hong Gang-cheol that North Korean defector organizations receive up to 1.5 million won for sending a single balloon carrying leaflets (anti-North Korean propaganda leaflets), saying, "(If that is true, the leaflet distribution by defector organizations) is an unforgivable act."

On the 13th, Lee posted on Facebook, stating, "I cannot forgive those who threaten the security of the Republic of Korea and the lives of its citizens just to earn a small amount of money."

Earlier, Hong Gang-cheol, a defector who was acquitted after being charged in the North Korean Security Command direct spy case and cleared of false accusations, appeared on TBS Radio's 'Kim Eo-jun's News Factory' on the 12th and exposed that the indiscriminate distribution of leaflets by defector organizations is motivated by money.

He said, "One of the people involved in North Korean human rights activism who participated in leaflet distribution activities recently came to me and told me that defector organizations receive money from American right-wing and far-right Protestant groups. But to receive money, they have to create social issues. They need to have activity records," he explained.

He added, "The Free North Korea Movement Alliance, led by Park Sang-hak, seems to have some know-how in distributing leaflets. So other organizations ask them to send leaflets under their own organization's name. In such cases, they charge 1.5 million won per balloon. Considering the cost, small balloons cost 80,000 won and large balloons 120,000 won, but they charge more than ten times that amount," he added.

Hong particularly introduced, "The person who reported this to me said after seeing this, 'These guys are really trash, they only care about money, they are not doing human rights activism.' So they left the organization."

Hong also claimed that sending leaflets or rice contained in PET bottles does not help in persuading North Korean residents at all.

He questioned, "If someone left a cake in front of my house, would I eat it? Even South Koreans wouldn't eat it," and added, "A defector from Cheorwon, Gangwon Province, also said, 'Who would eat that? How do you know if there are drugs or poison in it?'"

Earlier, on the 12th, following Governor Lee Jae-myung's urgent directive, Gyeonggi Province announced a strong countermeasure against the distribution of leaflets by defector organizations.

The province designated border areas as 'danger zones' to ban leaflet distribution, and decided to ban entry and deploy the provincial special judicial police to arrest leaflet distributors caught in the act, as they threaten the lives of residents.

Additionally, leaflets distributed in the air will be fined under the Outdoor Advertising Act, and PET bottles containing leaflets distributed in the ocean will be considered waste and subject to strict enforcement and prosecution under the Waste Management Act and Marine Environment Management Act.

After the policy announcement, Governor Lee stated on Facebook, "The distribution of leaflets to North Korea has no practical benefit and poses great danger," and pointed out, "Peace is threatened and inter-Korean relations have deteriorated overnight due to the actions of some groups ignoring the agreements between the South and North Korean leaders."

He emphasized, "Gyeonggi Province, which borders North Korea, is the first and most directly affected by inter-Korean relations," and explained, "Six years ago, leaflet distribution triggered armed conflict with bullets flying into villages."

Governor Lee asserted, "Recklessly distributing leaflets is a reckless 'crisis provocation' act that induces military conflict and raises tensions on the Korean Peninsula, and it is a 'social disaster' act that threatens the lives and safety of residents."

He added, "We will not tolerate such acts that harm peace and threaten lives. We will use all possible means to prevent them in advance," and warned, "In accordance with the 'Framework Act on the Management of Disasters and Safety,' we will designate parts of the border area as 'danger zones' and ban entry of leaflet distributors to completely block illegal activities."

Furthermore, he promised, "We will deploy special judicial police to the field and use all administrative power and public authority to arrest and book distributors caught in the act."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.