Gov`t to Compensate Former SK Spies

The government has decided to come up with a compensation measure for the Headquarters of Intelligence Detachment (HID), spies who were sent to North Korea in the past. The government is said to have notified related groups such as the Association of HID Agents of its plan.

The government`s provision of compensation for these people indicates that it admits sending spies to North Korea, which it has continuously denied. But such groups as the Association of HID Agents said they would not accept the government`s compensation plan and wage demonstrations until their demand is accepted.

According to the military intelligence command, the government has laid out a compensation measure to grant up to tens of millions of won to those who conducted espionage in North Korea from the 1960s to 1994. The amount of compensation money will be decided in accordance with how long they served and what they did.

An official of the military intelligence command said that the government notified related organizations of the final draft last month and plans to grant the compensation to those qualified starting from November after deliberation.

He added that the government had initially planned to compensate spies who were on the mission until 1980, but later expanded the range of compensation after considering that former spies restrained from staging protests during the World Cup games.

In response, an official of the Association of HID Agents said that the group valued the government`s recognition of their state, but the amount of compensation fell far short of the amount the government promised when they joined the army. He went on to say that they would never accept the government plan until the government makes an official apology and recognition of their state, and increases the amount of compensation.

The issue of former spies to North Korea came to light in 2000 when Rep. Kim Sung-ho of the Millennium Democratic Party revealed in the National Assembly that about 10,000 South Korean spies were sent to North Korea between 1952 and 1972, and that 7,726 among them were killed or missing.

Sang-Ho Yun ysh1005@donga.com