'North Korean Operative Sent to Assassinate Hwang Jang-yop Faces Trial Again After Release'

Prosecutors Seek Six-Month Prison Term in Appeal for Security Surveillance Act Violation

A man in his 50s, a former North Korean operative who was sent to South Korea under orders to assassinate Hwang Jang-yop, former secretary of the Workers' Party of North Korea, is once again facing the possibility of imprisonment after repeatedly violating security supervision guidelines following his release from prison.

On May 21, the Gwangju District Court Criminal Division 1-1 (Presiding Judges Kang Aeran, Nam Haein, and Jeong Jinhwa) held the first appellate hearing for Mr. A (age 52), a former operative of the Reconnaissance General Bureau of the North Korean Ministry of People’s Armed Forces, who is charged with violating the Security Surveillance Act, among other offenses. During the sentencing hearing, prosecutors requested the court sentence Mr. A to six months in prison.

Gwangju District Court building.

Mr. A, who has refused to defect and continues to hold North Korean citizenship while residing in South Korea, is accused of failing to promptly report personal information such as his residence to the authorities. Previously, the court of first instance sentenced Mr. A to a fine of 1 million won, but the prosecution appealed the verdict, insisting that an actual prison sentence should be imposed.

Mr. A has a prior record of entering South Korea in 2009 disguised as a defector, under orders to assassinate former secretary Hwang, and was arrested. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison for violating the National Security Act and other charges, and was released in April 2020 after serving his full sentence.

However, after his release, he appeared in court again for failing to fulfill obligations under the Security Surveillance Act, such as reporting changes of address, on 20 separate occasions until last year.

In his final statement on this day, Mr. A pleaded for leniency, stating, "It was a simple mistake caused by my lack of understanding of South Korean law."

The court concluded the appellate trial proceedings for Mr. A and scheduled the sentencing hearing for June 11.

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