A Suspect Under Detention Flees to North Korea... Police Management of Defectors Left Wide Open

One Police Personal Protection Officer
Manages Over 30 North Korean Defectors
Criticism Over Staff Shortage and Lack of System

Kim Mo (24), a North Korean defector, pictured while living in South Korea before defecting to North Korea. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] Recently, the fact that Kim Mo (24), a North Korean defector under police investigation for sexual assault charges, defected back to North Korea has brought the police's management of defectors under scrutiny. With the government's reform of power institutions transferring the National Intelligence Service's counter-espionage investigation authority to the police and the expected expansion of police duties related to North Korea, there are calls for more systematic management of defectors.

According to the police and the Ministry of Unification on the 27th, the number of North Korean defectors entering South Korea was 1,127 in 2017, 1,137 in 2018, and 1,047 in 2019, exceeding 1,000 annually. As of March this year, 135 defectors have entered the country. However, more than 800 defectors each year have unclear residences. According to last year's National Assembly audit data, the number of defectors with "unknown residence" was 888 in 2016, 928 in 2017, 884 in 2018, and 891 as of July 2019. This means that although defectors are always at risk of threats from North Korea and require thorough personal protection, their whereabouts and activities are not properly confirmed.

One underlying reason is the chronic shortage of police personnel. Typically, the police manage defectors through security functions at various police stations. The problem is that as of August last year, the total number of defectors was 30,685, while there were only 915 police officers responsible for personal protection. This means one police officer is responsible for managing 33.5 defectors. In particular, in Incheon, which ranks third among metropolitan local governments in the number of defectors, one police officer had to manage 48.2 defectors. A former police officer who served as a security chief at a frontline police station said, "Many defectors are reluctant and perceive calls from their assigned officers as a form of 'surveillance.'"

Meanwhile, questions remain about Kim's defection back to North Korea. It was revealed that Kim was booked at the Gimpo Police Station in Gyeonggi Province on sexual assault charges and even had an arrest warrant issued. Typically, when an arrest warrant is requested by the police, the suspect attends a pre-arrest hearing (warrant substantive examination) and waits at the police station until the warrant is issued. In other words, Kim fled before the warrant substantive examination. A close acquaintance of Kim also claimed that on the 18th of this month, they informed the police that Kim intended to defect back to North Korea, but the police ignored it.

The police have launched an internal investigation. A police official said, "We will first ascertain the detailed circumstances and then decide whether to conduct an inspection of the Gimpo Police Station." This is not the first controversy over the police's poor management of defectors. Last month, despite establishing a 24-hour guard system to prevent the distribution of anti-North Korean leaflets, Park Sang-hak, the head of the Free North Korea Movement Alliance, easily bypassed it and distributed 500,000 leaflets.

Meanwhile, the military authorities found a bag presumed to belong to Kim in the Ganghwa area and are investigating. The military believes Kim did not directly breach the barbed wire fence but passed through a drainage channel under the fence and is tracking the exact route of defection. Considering that North Korea described Kim on the 26th via the Korean Central News Agency as a "defector who illegally crossed the Military Demarcation Line after three years," the military suspects the defector is Kim.

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