An Additional Two or Three Uninvestigated North Korea Visits by Song

On October 13, the 1st Department of Public Peace at the Seoul District Public Prosecutor’s Office (Oh Se-hun, superintendent) investigating the alleged breach of National Security Law by Song Du-yul (59), a scholar residing in Germany, revealed their intentions of looking closely into Song’s actions during his visit to North Korea, after revealing that Song had visited North Korea about 20 times since 1973.

“It has been confirmed that Song has visited North Korea approximately 20 times, which is more than the 18 visits that were investigated by the National Intelligence Service. The two to three visits that were not looked into during the NIS investigation are now under investigation,” says a prosecution official.

The prosecution also added that the investigation could be prolonged because Song stubbornly continues to deny some of the charges until physical evidence is presented. Therefore, the prosecution is planning to summon Song one or more times this week to investigate his alleged nomination and activities as a candidate member in the North Korean Labor Party’s political department before reaching a final decision on the level of legal actions to be taken against him.

Though the investigation team is of the opinion that an arrest is inevitable, the final decision of the justice department and senior officers of the Supreme Public Prosecution’s Office is gathering interest, for President Roh hinted that he would like to see Song not be harshly punished during his speech to the National Assembly that day. Meanwhile, Song is planning to make a public statement regarding his standpoint on issues including whether or not he is willing to give up his German citizenship.

Sang-Rok Lee Tae-Hoon Lee myzodan@donga.com jefflee@donga.com