Police Summon Park Sang-hak, Representative of 'Anti-North Korea Leaflet Distribution' for Investigation

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Seung-yoon] The police are summoning and investigating Park Sang-hak, the head of the Free North Korea Movement Alliance, who has been involved in distributing leaflets to North Korea.

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's task force (TF) investigating the distribution of leaflets and materials to North Korea called Park in for questioning around 9:30 a.m. on the 30th, as a suspect accused of violating the Inter-Korean Exchange and Cooperation Act, among other charges.

The police plan to question Park thoroughly about the facts related to the distribution of leaflets to North Korea. Park previously claimed that he distributed leaflets in Deogeun-ri, Wollong-myeon, Paju-si, Gyeonggi Province on the 22nd. Leaflets presumed to have been sent by them were actually found in Hongcheon-gun, Gangwon Province.

The police have registered charges against Park and his brother Park Jung-oh, head of Keunsaem, who sent rice in PET bottles to North Korea. On the 26th, the police also conducted searches and seizures at the offices of the Free North Korea Movement Alliance operated by Park and Keunsaem operated by his brother Park Jung-oh. The police have been conducting on-site witness investigations targeting residents in border areas such as Gimpo and Paju-si, Yeoncheon-gun in Gyeonggi Province, and Ganghwa-gun in Incheon City, where defector organizations sent leaflets and rice to North Korea. Based on the results of the investigation on this day, the police plan to consider additional summons and judicial processing of Park.

The police have repeatedly stated a strict response policy toward the act of distributing leaflets to North Korea. Recently, at a press briefing, Police Commissioner Min Gap-ryong said, "We have issued an emergency alert and activated a prevention system to stop the occurrence of public anxiety caused by North Korea threatening citizens due to provocative items sent to North Korea," adding, "We are conducting an in-depth legal review to punish according to the facts identified and will take strict and swift measures accordingly."

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