The First Korean-Russian Subject to North Korea Sanctions... Who Is Choi Cheon-gon? (Comprehensive)

Born in 1957, real name 'Choi Cheong-gon'
Wanted in Korea for illegal financial charges
Intermediating North Korea trade including soybean oil

Active in Vladivostok
Local Korean residents should be cautious in transactions

The government has designated Choi Chon Gon, a Korean-Russian who has been active on behalf of the North Korean regime in violation of the UN Security Council's sanctions resolutions against North Korea, as a subject of independent sanctions.

This is the first time our government has designated a Korean individual as a subject of independent sanctions against North Korea. Independent sanctions have been imposed on Choi Chon Gon, his accomplice Seo Myung, and two companies owned by Choi.

Korean name 'Choi Cheong Gon'... Wanted for financial crimes, acquired Russian nationality

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the 28th, Mr. Choi, born in 1957, was originally named 'Choi Cheong Gon' when he held Korean nationality. It is known that he has used the name 'Choi Chon Gon' because the Russian language cannot represent the final consonant sound 'ㅇ' (ieung) in Korean. When a warrant was issued for him on charges related to financial crimes while he was still a Korean national, he left the country and acquired Russian nationality. According to Korean nationality law, which does not recognize dual nationality, his Korean nationality was lost.

Subsequently, in January 2019, he established 'Hannae Ulan' in Mongolia and has been supporting North Korea's financial activities using the company's accounts. 'Hannae Ulan' also appears in the 2021 report of the UN Security Council's North Korea Sanctions Committee panel. According to the report, Hannae Ulan sent corporate registration documents and deposit reports to the North Korean embassy in Russia and sent large amounts of foreign currency to the North Korean embassy in Poland.

Lee Jun-il, head of the North Korea Nuclear Diplomacy Planning Division at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is holding up a document containing information about Choi Cheon-gon, a Korean-Russian who provided financial support to North Korea, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the morning of the 28th.

Diplomatic authorities believe that Hannae Ulan acted as an intermediary in trade with North Korea involving soybean oil, flour, and other goods. The trade volume with North Korea through Hannae Ulan exceeds 10 billion KRW. Authorities believe that Choi received a portion of this amount as commission. In addition, since August 2017, Choi has been operating a trading company called 'Epsilon' in Russia in a joint investment format with Seo Myung, the representative of the North Korean 'Korea Trade Bank' in Vladivostok, who was listed on the UN sanctions list.

Documents related to Epsilon posted on a Russian commercial website show that Choi holds 51% of the company's shares, while Seo holds 49%. Epsilon is registered as a trading company dealing in automobile parts and lumber. The government also considers this company to be a corporation established to evade sanctions against North Korea.

The Security Council prohibits joint ventures or the establishment, maintenance, and operation of cooperative entities with North Korean organizations or individuals through multiple sanctions resolutions. Our authorities judge that all such activities constitute violations of the resolutions.

"Exchanging in Vladivostok... Local Korean community needs to be cautious in dealings with Choi"

Besides the sanctions-violating activities pointed out by the authorities, Choi is currently conducting other businesses in Vladivostok and interacting with the local Korean community. Therefore, according to the relevant authorities, the local Korean community needs to exercise caution in transactions with Choi following this independent sanctions measure.

An official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated, "It is prohibited for our citizens to engage in transactions with sanctioned individuals. Choi Chon Gon continues illegal activities even now," urging caution. A government official said, "We have comprehensively designated Choi Chon Gon, the companies he established to evade sanctions, and his accomplices as subjects of sanctions."

Our government's independent sanctions against North Korea are applied under the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act and the Act on the Prohibition of Financing for Terrorism and Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction (Terrorism Financing Prohibition Act). If foreign exchange or financial transactions (including virtual assets) are conducted with sanctioned individuals without approval from financial authorities such as the Bank of Korea or the Financial Services Commission, penalties may be imposed.

This sanction against Choi Chon Gon and others is the ninth independent sanction imposed since the inauguration of the Yoon Suk Yeol administration in May last year. Since October last year, our government has added 45 individuals and 47 organizations to the independent sanctions list.

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