Ministry of Unification Keeps Transfer Route Confidential for 800 Million Won Copyright Fees Sent to North Korea

Minister of Unification Lee In-young is attending a press briefing held at the Government Seoul Office Building on the 30th of last month.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jung-yoon] The court requested the Korea-North Korea Economic and Cultural Cooperation Foundation (Kyungmoonhyeop) to disclose the remittance routes of copyright fees for Korean Central TV, but the Ministry of Unification reportedly took a stance of non-disclosure.

According to the legal community on the 3rd, Judge Song Seung-yong of the Seoul Eastern District Court Civil Division 1 accepted the request from the plaintiff, a former Korean War prisoner of war, in April and requested the Ministry of Unification to investigate the facts regarding the recipients of the copyright fees amounting to 790 million won sent by Kyungmoonhyeop from 2005 to 2008 and the remittance routes.

In response, the Ministry of Unification reportedly stated in the fact inquiry reply submitted on the 13th of last month that it could not disclose the remittance routes and related information.

Previously, former Korean War prisoners Han Mo and Noh Mo filed and won a lawsuit against North Korea and Chairman Kim Jong-un, claiming damages for being captured by North Korean forces during the Korean War and forced to perform labor assigned to the Ministry of Interior's Construction Unit. Subsequently, a collection order was issued against Kyungmoonhyeop, which had deposited the Korean Central TV copyright fees with the court, but when Kyungmoonhyeop refused, they filed a lawsuit for collection of the funds at the Eastern District Court in December last year.

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