Two current and former executives of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions accused of ‘North Korea orders’ found not guilty on appeal

Lack of evidence of role performance and collusion according to orders... Mr. Seok, who left the country together, was sentenced to prison.

(Suwon = Yonhap News) Reporter Kim Sol = Two former and current executives of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, who were indicted without detention on charges of contacting North Korean agents in China and receiving orders, were acquitted in the second trial.

On the 4th, the Suwon High Court's Criminal Division 2 (Chief Judge Kim Geon-woo) upheld the innocence of the original trial in the appeal trial of Mr. A, an executive of the Gyeonggi Central Branch of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, and Mr. B, a former executive of the Korean Federation for Democracy, who were indicted on charges of violating the National Security Act (special infiltration and escape).

Mr. A and others were indicted in January last year on charges of leaving for Guangzhou, China with Seok, former head of the Organizational Dispute Department of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, in September 2018, meeting North Korean agents, and then returning to Korea under orders. The Public Prosecution Office had previously sentenced Mr. A and Mr. B to 7 and 8 years in prison, respectively, at the decision trial.

Previously, the first trial court ruled, "There is room to believe that the defendants' actions amounted to infiltration and escape," but "considering the circumstances of the defendant's departure from China and the place and time when the defendants encountered North Korean agents, it is difficult to say that the indictment was proven beyond a reasonable doubt."

In addition, although the defendants were mentioned in North Korea's reports, it was determined that the fact that they actually performed the relevant roles was not confirmed.

The second trial court also ruled, “It is difficult to say that the defendants played the role of North Korean agents based solely on the contents of the instructions, etc.,” and “It is difficult to determine that they committed the crime in collusion with Mr. Seok based only on the evidence presented by the prosecutor.”

Next, regarding Mr. B's charge of possession of a subversive expression, the lower court's judgment was justified, saying, "It is difficult to conclude that he possessed it for the purpose of committing a subversive act."

Meanwhile, Mr. Seok, who was first arrested and indicted on the same charges in May 2023, was sentenced to 15 years in prison and 15 years of suspension of qualifications in the first trial, but the sentence was reduced to 9 years and 6 months in prison and 9 years and 6 months of suspension in the appeal trial. In September of last year, the Supreme Court dismissed both parties' appeals and confirmed the sentence.