"Accused of Colluding with North Korean Operatives in South Korea"… Civil Organization Researcher Indicted and Detained

Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, Seocho-dong, Seoul. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] A research fellow affiliated with a certain private research institute in South Korea was arrested and indicted on charges of meeting with North Korean agents to exchange instructions and reports, and publishing pro-North Korean materials.

On the 24th, the Public Investigation Division 1 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Yang Donghoon) indicted the research fellow Lee Mo (57) on charges of violating the National Security Act.

According to the prosecution, since 2017, Lee is accused of meeting with North Korean agent A four times, reporting on his activities and the trends of the domestic progressive camp, and receiving training on how to send and receive encrypted instructions and reports. It was investigated that Agent A infiltrated South Korea in April 2017 disguised as a Japanese-Peruvian national.

Additionally, Lee is charged with publishing two books from July 2018 for about a year that defended or praised North Korea's Juche ideology, hereditary dictatorship, military-first politics, and possession of nuclear weapons. He is also accused of receiving encrypted instructions from North Korea's anti-South Korean operations organization via overseas web hard drives for about 11 months starting from October of the same year, and sending 14 reports in five instances.

Earlier, on the 16th of last month, the National Intelligence Service and the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency discovered these charges through a joint investigation, arrested Lee, and transferred him to the prosecution on the 2nd.

A prosecution official stated, "This case was uncovered through a joint investigation by the National Intelligence Service and the police, and the prosecution cooperated closely," adding, "We will do our best to ensure that a sentence commensurate with the crime is handed down through thorough prosecution during the trial process."

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