It’s time for North Korea to free them

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It’s time for North Korea to free them

Published: 27 Mar. 2025, 00:04

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Hong Seong-phil

The author is a professor of Law at Yonsei University Law School.

Since October 2013, North Korea has been unlawfully detaining three South Korean missionaries — Kim Jung-wook, Kim Kuk-ki, and Choi Chun-gil — for extended periods. Kim Jung-wook was arrested by North Korean authorities in October 2013 while carrying out humanitarian aid work, including support for North Korean defectors. The following year, he was sentenced to life with hard labor on charges including plotting to overthrow the state, anti-state propaganda and illegal border crossing. Kim Kuk-ki and Choi Chun-gil were arrested in October and December of 2014, respectively, and in June 2015, both received life sentences with hard labor.

Footage released by North Korean state media in 2014 and 2015 showed the missionaries making confessions and apologies for so-called anti-state activities. These public displays appeared to be the result of coercion. In Kim Jung-wook’s case, some witnesses have testified to visible signs of injuries consistent with torture.

On March 13, the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council’s Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) issued a formal opinion recognizing the detention of the three missionaries as arbitrary and unlawful under international law. This follows previous WGAD determinations: one in 2012 regarding Shin Suk-ja, a nurse from Tongyeong, South Gyeongsang, who was dispatched to Germany, and another in 2019 concerning Hwang Won, a former MBC producer and passenger on a hijacked Korean Air flight. North Korean authorities have claimed Shin died of hepatitis, though no independent verification has been possible. This new decision marks the first such ruling from WGAD in six years and reflects the tireless efforts of the victims’ families, human rights organizations and the South Korean Ministry of Unification’s task force on abductees.

A North Korean refugee living in the United Kingdom appeals for the release of her sister, Kim Cheol-ok, in front of the North Korean Embassy in London on Oct. 10, 2024. Kim was repatriated to North Korea by China in October 2023 after she escaped her home country. [YONHAP]

In its decision, WGAD found that North Korea’s detention practices met four of the five categories of arbitrary detention defined as illegal under international law — excluding only refugee-related cases. It highlighted the absence of legal grounds for arrest and imprisonment, the lack of due process or fair trial standards, and the denial of fundamental freedoms, such as freedom of belief and expression. The group concluded that the deprivation of liberty stemmed from religious discrimination.

While North Korea has previously yielded to international pressure to release detainees with U.S. or Canadian citizenship, it has steadfastly refused even to confirm the status of South Korean nationals — particularly the three missionaries. WGAD noted that this constitutes both nationality-based and faith-based discrimination.

WGAD has demanded that North Korea immediately release the three missionaries, provide restitution and compensation, allow an independent and thorough investigation into their detention, hold those responsible accountable and publicly disseminate the findings of the decision as widely as possible — all within six months.

The families of the detained missionaries are undoubtedly the most heartened by this development. Still, it is deeply regrettable that such a clear and just ruling has taken more than a decade to materialize. The South Korean government must now redouble its efforts to secure their repatriation. At the very least, a framework for humanitarian dialogue and cooperation with North Korea must be pursued.

North Korea's Kijong-dong Seonjeon Village as seen from Aegibong, a peak in Gimpo, Gyeonggi, on Feb. 24, 2024. [NEWS1]

The U.S. State Department, for example, operates the Office of the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs, which oversees the return of U.S. citizens arbitrarily detained abroad and enforces relevant legislation. Last September, marking 4,000 days since Kim Jung-wook’s arrest, the office issued a strong statement calling for his release.

There is a growing global consensus that arbitrary detention not only constitutes a grave violation of human rights, but also undermines international peace and the rule of law. South Korea must deepen its collaboration with the international community — including UN agencies, quasi-governmental organizations and global civil society networks comprising religious and civic groups. It should take a more active role in the Declaration Against Arbitrary Detention in State-to-State Relations, which includes 81 participating nations, and in the Media Freedom Coalition, supported by more than 50 countries.

At the same time, South Korean society must reflect on its commitment to universal values, such as human rights and religious freedom. Above all, the protection and recovery of victims and their families must remain paramount. While caution is important, speed is even more essential. A bipartisan, humanitarian consensus within the political sphere is desperately needed.

Translated using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.