South Korea: arrests of people accused of intelligence with North Korea are increasing
South Korean police in Seoul, November 8, 2017. (Illustration) AFP - JUNG YEON-JE
Text by: Nicolas Rocca Follow
3 mins
In South Korea, the dismantling of the network of North Korean intelligence services has multiplied since the beginning of 2023. Many activists and trade unionists are in the sights of the authorities for having collaborated with spies from Pyongyang.
These crackdowns have caused a lot of ink to flow in South Korea and divided the political class because while some consider these investigations legitimate, others accuse the authorities of seeking to muzzle the opposition.
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Many spy rings across the country have reportedly been dismantled.
Arrest warrants have been issued for four members
of a group advocating Korean unification.
They are accused of meeting with North Korean agents in Cambodia and Vietnam in 2016 before returning to South Korea, organizing rallies against the US military presence and promoting far-left ideas.
Another activist was arrested for similar encounters in Hanoi and Beijing.
In most cases, we are not talking about sensitive information transmitted to Pyongyang but about political agitation supposedly guided by North Korea.
Among the personalities concerned by the numerous investigations are
the leader of the opposition, Lee Jae-myung
and several members of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, the second organization for the defense of workers in the country, clearly oriented to the left.
Silence the opposition
This creates quite strong reactions in South Korea given the profile of the suspects.
The search of the union's premises on January 18
was seen by critics of conservative president Yoon Suk-yeol as an act aimed at muzzling the opposition.
It must be said that the use of the very old national security law introduced even before the Korean War brings back memories of the authoritarian period.
Under the military dictatorship, heads of state used this text, which prohibits any expression of sympathy or support for
North Korea,
to silence critics.
Other conservative presidents subsequently made use of this anti-communist rhetoric.
Involvement of intelligence services
And what worries the opposition and the unions is the pronounced involvement in the searches of the intelligence services, whose director is appointed by the president.
Historically accused of being the government's armed wing in political repression, they are due to transfer the power to investigate
North Korean espionage to the national police
next year .
How are the authorities defending themselves against these serious accusations of denial of democracy?
According to them, they are doing work that was not done during the previous five-year term.
Moon Jae-in, the Democratic President, was above all seeking to preserve inter-Korean relations.
While an average of four espionage cases came to light each year under his tenure,
the figure dropped to three in three years.
According to the Conservatives, these arrests are legitimate.
Proof of the troubled role of the unions according to them, the participation in demonstrations against the American military presence, historic fight of the left but far from the questions of labor law.
It is therefore possible now that the right
seeks to reverse the reform of the intelligence services
to deal with a security threat that it considers more and more pronounced.
But for that, it will probably be necessary to convince the Democratic opposition, the majority in Parliament, which seems far from won.
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