Abductee families pause leaflets, hoping Lee delivers

The Families of Abducted and Detained in North Korea (FAD), one of the groups that had been sending leaflets to the North, said it will stop, expressing trust in the government's pledge to resolve the abduction issue.

On July 6, Choi Sung-ryong, head of FAD, told the Dong-A Ilbo in a phone interview, “After discussing with the victims' families, we have decided to stop sending leaflets to North Korea completely.” He added, “Although we recently won an injunction lawsuit on leaflet distribution in the Supreme Court, we will no longer send them because we trust the Lee Jae-myung administration.”

Earlier, on June 24, FAD said it would consider suspending the distribution of leaflets to North Korea following a phone call with Vice Unification Minister Kim Nam-jung. At the time, a Unification Ministry official said, “Vice Minister Kim said he would listen to the voices of the families of abductees,” adding, “We believe they will take the government's request seriously and consider halting leaflet distribution.”

FAD is scheduled to hold a joint press conference with Paju City at 11 a.m. Tuesday at the outdoor rest area on the second floor of the Korean Peninsula Ecological Peace Tourism Center in Imjingak, Paju, Gyeonggi Province, to announce the decision. Paju Mayor Kim Gyeong-il and Democratic Party lawmaker Yoon Hu-duk are also expected to attend the press conference and urge other groups distributing leaflets to North Korea to join the suspension.

FAD has repeatedly sent leaflets to North Korea, drawing backlash from residents in border areas. In October and again in April, the association planned public leaflet distribution events at Imjingak, but both were canceled due to opposition from the Gyeonggi Special Judicial Police Group, local residents, and civic groups. In response, the association carried out leaflet distributions in secret—on April 27 at Imjingak in Paju, on May 8 in Cheorwon County, Gangwon Province, and on June 2 in a border area of Paju.

During this process, civic groups filed complaints and local governments took action. In November last year, the New Future Democratic Party and Paju residents filed an injunction against three organizations, including FAD, arguing that sending leaflets to North Korea violated the fundamental rights of residents in border areas, such as the rights to life and the pursuit of happiness.

At the time, both lower courts dismissed the request, stating, “If expressive acts that could provoke inter-Korean tensions are prohibited solely because the risk of North Korean military provocation extends nationwide, it could lead to an excessive restriction of freedom of expression.” The Supreme Court recently upheld the lower courts' rulings.

Paju, located in the northernmost border area, enacted the “Paju City Ordinance on the Prevention of Leaflet Distribution to North Korea” on June 30, banning such activity. It is the first ordinance of its kind passed by a local council.


이수연 기자 lotus@donga.com