A North Korean agent, who was arrested after receiving orders to assassinate former North Korean Workers' Party Secretary Hwang Jang-yop, has been penalized for failing to comply with surveillance procedures after his release from prison.
According to Yonhap News on June 11, the Gwangju District Court's Criminal Division 1, presided over by Judges Kang Ae-ran, Nam Hae-in, and Jeong Jin-hwa, upheld a fine of 1 million won against the agent, identified as A, who is affiliated with the North Korean Ministry of People's Armed Forces' Reconnaissance Bureau.
A, who has refused to defect and has maintained his North Korean nationality while living in South Korea, was charged for failing to report his personal information, including his residence, to authorities. The prosecution emphasized the need for detention, but the court accepted A's expressions of remorse and commitment to fulfill his obligations in both the first and second trials.
Previously, A had infiltrated South Korea in December 2009 under the guise of a defector, following orders to assassinate Hwang Jang-yop, who had defected to the South in 1997. However, he was caught during an investigation by authorities suspicious of his false defector claims and was sentenced to 10 years in prison for violating the National Security Law. A was released in April 2020 but failed to comply with surveillance obligations 20 times until last year.
Hwang, the highest-ranking North Korean official to defect to the South in 1997, passed away from heart disease at his home in Nonhyeon-dong, Gangnam, in October 2010 at the age of 87.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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