▲ The above picture is not directly related to the content of the article.
A North Korean defector in his 50s who attempted to re-enter North Korea was sentenced to prison in the appeals court.
He had a history of re-entering North Korea after defecting in the past and then defecting again.
According to the legal community today (24th), the 2nd part of the Incheon District Court Criminal Court (Chief Judge Lee Hyun-seok) upheld the original judgment of 1 year and 6 months in prison for A (54), who was charged with stealing and escaping under the National Security Act at the appeals trial. I did.
Person A is accused of requesting re-entry to North Korea at the North Korean Embassy in Vietnam in Hanoi, Vietnam, on August 4, 2019.
However, he was denied entry by the North Korean authorities because he was suspected of being a spy.
Previously, he defected to North Korea in 1998 and returned to North Korea in 2000 under the pretext of 'I will bring my wife' and then escaped.
At that time, Mr. A was punished for violating the Act on Inter-Korean Exchanges and Cooperation in South Korea (the charge of entering North Korea).
In addition, he was sentenced to 3 years in prison and 10 years in treatment probation for attempting to murder his half-brother with a knife in 2004.
Then, in August 2017, he was caught and sentenced to eight months in prison after breaking his electronic anklet and escaping from a mental hospital in Naju, South Jeolla Province.
The court of appeals maintained the sentence of the lower court, saying, "Compared to the original trial, there is no new situation to be reflected in the sentencing." stated the reason.
(Photo = Yonhap News)