Police Send Park Sang-hak, His Brother and Sister-in-law to Prosecution for 'North Korea Leaflet Distribution'

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Seung-yoon] Park Sang-hak, head of the Free Joseon Movement, who is accused of distributing leaflets to North Korea, and Park's younger brother and his spouse have been referred to the prosecution.

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency announced on the 19th that they had sent Park and his brother and spouse to the prosecution with a recommendation for indictment on charges of violating the Inter-Korean Relations Development Act (North Korea Leaflet Prohibition Act).

A Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency official stated at a press briefing that day, "Park failed to appear for summons four times, but we judged that there was no problem proving the criminal charges through evidence, so we referred the case to the prosecution this morning."

Earlier, the Free Joseon Movement claimed that between April 25 and 29, they sent 500,000 leaflets, 500 booklets, and 5,000 one-dollar bills to North Korea twice using 10 advertising balloons in the areas adjacent to the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in Gyeonggi and Gangwon provinces.

However, since it could not be confirmed whether the leaflets distributed by Park reached North Korea, the police applied charges of attempted distribution of leaflets to North Korea. According to the Inter-Korean Relations Development Act, revised and enforced in March this year, distributing leaflets to North Korea can result in imprisonment of up to three years or a fine of up to 30 million won. Attempted offenses are also punishable.

Earlier, on May 6, the police conducted a search and seizure of Park's office and other locations. Then, on May 10, Park was summoned as a suspect and investigated for about six hours. Later, on May 20, Park visited the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency in Naeja-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, for a second interrogation but suddenly left the building. At that time, Park protested against the police's search and seizure, stating that he could not accept coercive investigation, and refused to attend the third and fourth interrogations as well.

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