'Spy Fabrication' Victim Yoo Garyeo Witness: "One Cheek Blotchy Red"

Victim Yoo Woo-sung of the 'Seoul City Government Employee Spy Fabrication Case' [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] Testimony has emerged that victim Yoo Garyeo of the 'Seoul City Public Official Spy Fabrication Case' had one side of her cheek swollen red when she was being interrogated at the National Intelligence Service Joint Interrogation Center (JIC). This supports Garyeo's claim that NIS investigators forced her brother Yoo Woosung to give false statements about entering North Korea and assaulted him.

Witness A testified to this during the trial this month of two NIS investigators charged with violating the National Intelligence Service Act, presided over by Judge Song Seunghun of the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 12.

Defector A, who has known the Yoo siblings since Hyesan, North Korea, recounted reuniting with Garyeo at the JIC in November 2012.

"At the center's playground, a woman was walking out with her head bowed deeply like this, and her posture caught my attention. I saw a paper in front of her that said 'Hyesan Hwagyo' and thought, 'What did this person do wrong to be like that?' But as I looked closer, it was Garyeo. I was both glad and surprised, so I approached and said, 'Mom or hey!'"

The JIC is a facility operated by the NIS to detain defectors. Defectors who have braved dangers such as forced repatriation to North Korea undergo identity verification, including family background and defection circumstances, before being sent to Hana Center (a social settlement support institution for defectors).

A said, "When I asked Garyeo, 'Did you get hit?' she silently lowered her eyes. Her (right cheek) was red and blotchy," adding, "The NIS separated us and sent us to different interrogation rooms." He also added, "The investigator said, 'Because of the little kid, I have to take off my military uniform too.'"

Last March, Garyeo also testified in court that "I was hit a lot by the investigators while writing the statement," and "Some parts were written under guided questioning and persuasion, while others were written according to my own intent."

B, who met the Yoo siblings in China since 2004 and lived with Garyeo after her release in 2013, also appeared as a witness. B said, "Garyeo complained of pain in her legs and shoulders even when turning over," and "She said, 'My head hit the wall, and if I didn't talk, they kicked me with their feet,' so I thought, 'Wow, how can this happen in this day and age?'"

B also revealed, "In February 2013, NIS officers came to pick me up from the mart where I finished work at 10 p.m. On the way to the prosecution investigation, an NIS officer said, 'Call Woosung's father and ask if Woosung ever entered North Korea.'"

He continued, "Since they connected me to Woosung's father on speakerphone, I said, 'There are NIS officers next to me, so ask him, 'Has Woosung ever been to North Korea?'' Then the officers hung up the phone and got angry, saying, 'You didn't do as told,' and intimidated me." He testified, "Also, the officers knew the content of the call between Woosung's father and me, so I asked, 'Did you wiretap us?' After that, I was scared to make calls."

He said, "Garyeo only wished to come to the Republic of Korea and live with her brother," adding, "Even if investigations are conducted, they should not be done through violence, threats, or persuasion. I hope no more victims like this emerge."

Judge Song plans to conduct two more witness examinations in October and December and finish all arguments within this year.

'Hwagyo Siblings Spy Case' Fabricated as the 'Seoul City Public Official Spy Fabrication Case'

Previously, Woosung, a defector of Hwagyo origin working as a contract public official for Seoul City, was indicted in January 2013 while in custody on charges of passing information about defectors in South Korea to the North Korean State Security Department through his sister Garyeo. Garyeo's testimony at the JIC after entering the country in October 2012 was decisive evidence. However, after Garyeo revealed that she made false statements following six months of detention and harsh treatment, Woosung was acquitted by the Supreme Court.

Kim, a former NIS manager who fabricated evidence to frame Woosung as a spy, was prosecuted for false official document creation and evidence tampering and was sentenced to four years in prison by the Supreme Court in 2015.

The Prosecution's Past Affairs Committee announced in February 2019 that the prosecution was fully aware of the NIS fabrication and concealment of testimony but neglected to act. The committee uncovered circumstances where investigators coordinated their statements to hide the NIS's harsh treatment of Garyeo and found that the prosecution submitted a consular confirmation letter for Yoo, which was fabricated by the NIS, to the court despite knowing its falsity.

Furthermore, the committee judged that the prosecution did not properly verify the credibility of defectors who testified about Yoo. Lee Siwon, the prosecutor in charge and currently the Secretary for Public Office Discipline at the Presidential Office, avoided criminal punishment but received a one-month suspension.

Woosung filed lawsuits against NIS investigators and prosecutors, and in March 2020, the prosecution indicted only two NIS investigators without detention.

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