DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF KOREA: ARBITRARY DETENTION OF 3 FOREIGN MISSIONARIES

The International League Against Arbitrary Detention urges the Government of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to take all the necessary actions to implement the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention Opinion No. 59/2024 concerning Chun-gil Choi, Kook-kie Kim, and Jung-wook Kim asking the Government to immediately and unconditionally release them and accord them an enforceable right to compensation and other reparations in accordance with international law.

Read the full WGAD Opinion concerning Chun-gil Choi, Kook-kie Kim and Jung-wook Kim (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea): Opinion No. 59/2024.

DETAINED AND ARRESTED ON THE BASIS OF ANTI-STATE CHARGES FOR HUMANITARIAN AND RELIGIOUS ACTIVITIES

Mr. Chun-gil Choi (born 19 September 1959), Mr. Kook-kie Kim (born 23 July 1954), and Mr. Jung-wook Kim (born 20 January 1954) are all citizens of the Republic of Korea and Christian missionaries.

Mr. Chun-gil Choi is a trader carrying products for the people of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, travelling between the Republic of Korea and China for religious and humanitarian work. Both Mr. Kook-kie Kim, belonging to the Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea, and Mr. Jung-wook Kim, belonging to the Korea Baptist Convention, managed a shelter in Dandong city, along the border between the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) and China. Mr. Kook-kie Kim and Mr. Jung-wook Kim provided food, medicine, accommodation, and other necessities for the citizens of the DPRK.

Mr. Jung-wook Kim was arrested at an unspecified location on his way to Pyongyang on 8 October 2013 following the forced repatriation of 12 citizens of the DPRK whom he sheltered. He  continues to be held in an unspecified detention facility for foreign detainees.

Mr. Kook-kie Kim and Mr. Chun-gil Choi were arrested in October 2014 and December 2014, respectively. They both confessed to “absolutely unforgivable criminal acts” as intelligence spies of the Republic of Korea during their first press conference. They admitted allegations and said that they were well-treated during separate interviews with CNN in May 2015. On 23 June 2015, the State Media of DPRK announced that Mr. Kook-kie Kim and Mr. Chun-gil Choi were convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment with labour. It further revealed that the prosecutor had initially demanded the death penalty. They are both still serving their sentences and remain at an unspecified location.

The three men were deprived of liberty under the provisions of article 60 (conspiracy to subvert the State), article 62 (anti-State propaganda and agitation), article 64 (espionage), article 65 (destruction or sabotage), article 221 (illegal border crossing) of the Criminal Code.

The Government of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea was given the opportunity to respond to the source’s allegations, which it did on 12 August 2024.

ARRESTED WITHOUT A WARRANT AND HELD INCOMMUNICADO

According to the source, no arrest warrants were presented to Mr. Jung-wook Kim, Mr. Kook-kie Kim and Mr. Chun-gil Choi at the time of their arrests, nor were they informed of the reasons for their arrest. The Government did not explicitly contest the source’s allegations in this regard. The source also submitted that Mr. Jung-wook Kim, Mr. Kook-kie Kim, and Mr. Chun-gil Choi were held incommunicado during the entirety of their detentions, except for short periods as they appeared before the media and the court. For these reasons, the Working Group considered that the were not brought promptly before a judge, within the 48 hours following their arrest and found a violation of article 9 (3) of the Covenant.

Also, the Working Group considered that the detention of Mr. Jung-wook Kim, Mr. Kook-kie Kim, and Mr. Chun-gil Choi constituted an incommunicado detention given that they were deprived of any contact with the outside world. This violated their right to an effective remedy under article 8 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and article 2 (3) of the Covenant.

In light of the above, the Working Group concluded that the detentions of Mr. Jung-wook Kim, Mr. Kook-kie Kim and Mr. Chun-gil Choi were arbitrary under category I.

ARRESTED AND CONVICTED UNDER ANTI-STATE CHARGES FOR THE EXERCISE OF RIGHTS AND FREEDOM

The source submitted that the arrest and the detention of Mr. Jung-wook Kim, Mr. Kook-kie Kim and Mr. Chun-gil Choi were in relation to the exercise of their rights to freedom of movement and residence, freedom of thought, conscience and religion, freedom of opinion and expression and freedom of peaceful assembly and association. The Working Group highlighted that the prosecutions of the three men should be examined considering the current situation of human rights in the country. It expressed concerns regarding the systematic suppression of the rights to freedom of movement and expression in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea via strict internal controls, compulsory permissions for travel, and extensive surveillance.

The three men were convicted of “anti-state crimes” including charges conspiracy to subvert the State, anti-State propaganda, espionage, and illegal border crossing and the Working Group found these terms to be ambiguous and vague, potentially leading to their use to punish the peaceful exercise of human rights. In that regard, the Working Group recalled the declaration of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea who highlighted that the provisions allow the authorities to silence dissent and to restrict individual freedoms without legitimate justification, as they lack clarity. Furthermore, the commission of inquiry on human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea also previously recommended reforming the Criminal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code to eliminate vaguely worded crimes.

Given the facts, the absence of any detailed account of the charges and evidence provided by the Government and the repressive measures including arrests, convictions, and detentions, in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the Working Group found that the three missionaries’ exercise of freedom of expression, freedom of conscience and freedom of movement was the basis for their arrest and conviction under “anti-State” charges. In accordance, it concluded to a violation of articles 13, 18 and 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and articles 12, 19 and 21 of the Covenant.

Subsequently, the Working Group has found that the arrests and detentions of Mr. Jung-wook Kim, Mr. Kook-kie Kim, and Mr. Chun-gil Choi were arbitrary under category II.

DENIED THE RIGHT TO A FAIR TRIAL BEFORE AN IMPARTIAL TRIBUNAL, CONFESSIONS UNDER DURESS AND ALLEGATIONS OF TORTURE

As the arrest of Mr. Jung-wook Kim, Mr. Kook-kie Kim, and Mr. Chun-gil Choi was found arbitrary under category II, the Working Group stressed that no trial should have taken place. However, the submissions of the source in regard to the denial of fair trial rights of the three men were nonetheless examined.

The source submitted that Mr. Jung-wook Kim, Mr. Kook-kie Kim, and Mr. Chun-gil Choi were denied access to their lawyer, which is essential to the right to a fair trial. These allegations were not contested by the Government. Their incommunicado detention violated articles 10 and 11 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and article 14 (3) (d) of the Covenant. The Working Group also considered that this violation undermined the detainees' ability to have the proper time and facilities to prepare for their defence, in contravention of article 14 (3) (b) of the Covenant.

The Working Group highlighted that independence of the judiciary is essential for a fair hearing and referred to the findings of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights, which underlined that the judicial institutions in the democratic People’s Republic of Korea have limited power and are managed by higher authorities. Therefore, the Working Group found that the trial of Mr. Jung-wook Kim, Mr. Kook-kie Kim, and Mr. Chun-gil Choi was not conducted by an independent and impartial tribunal, in contravention of article 10 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and article 14 (1) of the Covenant.

The source also submitted that the trials of Mr. Jung-wook Kim, Mr. Kook-kie Kim, and Mr. Chun-gil Choi were not open to the public or to the media. Given the absence of any information to the contrary, the Working declared that the hearing of Mr. Jung-wook Kim, Mr. Kook-kie Kim, and Mr. Chun-gil was behind closed doors and further violated their rights under article 10 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and article 14 (1) of the Covenant, which guarantee the right to a public hearing.

Moreover, the Government did not comment on the source’s allegations of torture to extract confessions from the three men, and failed to disprove that torture was at stake in the case. In addition, the source’s allegations on the compromise of fair trial rights given that the entire trial proceedings were finalized in a single day, remain uncontested by the Government. Thus, the Working Group, expressing serious concern about these allegations, found that the men’s situation violated their fair trial rights guaranteed under article 10 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and article 14 of the Covenant. The Group also noted the denial of the right to due process, guaranteed under articles 3, 9, and 10 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Articles 9(1) and 14(1) of the Covenant.

Alos, the Working Group stated that the Government failed to observe the right of Mr. Jung-wook Kim, Mr. Kook-kie Kim, and Mr. Chun-gil Choi to be informed of their right to consular assistance under article 36 (1) (b) of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations.

In light of these, the Working Group concluded that the violations of the right to a fair trial and due process were of such gravity, that they rendered the deprivation of liberty of Mr. Jung-wook Kim, Mr. Kook-kie Kim, and Mr. Chun-gil Choi arbitrary under category III.

DISCRIMINATED ON THE BASIS OF THEIR NATIONALITY, RELIGION AND RELIGIOUS HUMANITARIAN ACTIVITY

The source alleged that the arrests and detention of Mr. Jung-wook Kim, Mr. Kook-kie Kim, and Mr. Chun-gil Choi were based on discriminatory intent because of their foreign nationality, and their religious and humanitarian work being Christian missionaries. This allegation was not addressed by the Government.

The Working Group referred to their previous finding under category II relating to the detention of the individuals being a consequence of the exercise of their rights to freedom of expression, freedom of conscience and freedom of movement, and suggested that there was a strong presumption that detentions resulting from the exercise of civil and political rights also violate international law on the grounds of discrimination based on political or other views.

The source claims that the three men arrested and faced prolonged detention because of their nationality as citizens of the Republic of Korea. Given the Government’s failure to disprove these claims, the Working Group decided that the detention of Mr. Jung-wook Kim, Mr. Kook-kie Kim, and Mr. Chun-gil Choi was rooted in discriminatory practices towards citizens of the Republic of Korea, in violation of article 2 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and articles 2(1) and 26 of the Covenant.

Considering all of the above and its findings under category II, the Working Group considered that the arrests and detention of Mr. Jung-wook Kim, Mr. Kook-kie Kim, and Mr. Chun-gil Choi were discriminatory and fell under category V.

CONCLUSIONS OF THE UN WORKING GROUP AGAINST ARBITRARY DETENTION

In light of the foregoing, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention considered that the detention of Jung-wook Kim, Kook-kie Kim and Chun-gil Choi was arbitrary and fell under categories I, II, III, V because the deprivation of their liberty was in contravention of articles 2, 3, 8, 9, 10, 13, 18 and 19 the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and articles 2, 9, 12, 14, 19, 21 and 26 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

The Working Group recommended that the Government of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea take the steps necessary to remedy the situation of Mr. Jung-wook Kim, Mr. Kook-kie Kim and Mr. Chun-gil Choi without delay and bring it into conformity with the relevant international norms. The Working group considered that, taking into account all circumstances of the case, the appropriate remedy would be to release them immediately and accord them an enforceable right to compensation and other reparations, in accordance with international law.

The Working Group noted that the current situation of human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea was deeply concerning, which was supported by the recent reports of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the country. The Working Group recalled that, under specific situations, widespread or systematic imprisonment or other severe deprivation of liberty violating the fundamental rules of international law may amount to crimes against humanity.