'Spy Fabrication Case' Victim Yoo Garyeo Testifies "Beaten and Forced to Write Statement by NIS"

Seoul Central District Court / Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] Yoo Garyeo, the younger brother of Yoo Woosung, a victim of the 'Seoul City Government Employee Spy Fabrication Case,' testified that he was assaulted by National Intelligence Service (NIS) officers and forced to give false statements.

On the 19th, Judge Seunghoon Song of the Seoul Central District Court, Division 12, conducted witness questioning of Yoo Garyeo during the trial of NIS employees Yoo Mo and Park Mo, who were indicted for violating the National Intelligence Service Act and other charges. Yoo stated during the questioning, "I was beaten a lot by the investigators when writing the statement," adding, "Some parts were written under guided interrogation and coaxing questions, while others were written according to my own intent." Previously, Yoo had given similar testimony during the prosecution's direct examination on December 9 of last year.

Yoo Woosung, a Chinese-Korean defector working as a contract employee for Seoul City, was charged with passing information about North Korean defectors in South Korea to the North Korean State Security Department through his younger brother. However, the evidence was proven to be fabricated, and the Supreme Court acquitted him. Subsequently, the Prosecution's Past Affairs Committee announced in February 2019 that the prosecution was fully aware of the NIS's fabrication and concealment of statements but neglected to address it. Following this, Yoo filed complaints against NIS investigators and prosecutors, and in March of last year, the prosecution indicted only two NIS investigators without detention.

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