SOUTH KOREA: Alleged fabrication and concealment of evidence by interrogating agencies

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that interrogating agencies allegedly fabricated and concealed evidence that are beneficial to Mr. Yu Woo-Sung who was indicted under National Security Act and others. Together with this, the sole statement provided by his sister was also reportedly extracted by inhuman treatment by investigating agents at an interrogation centre where she was kept for almost 6 months without legal assistance.

CASE NARRATIVE:

According to information received, Mr. Yu Woo-Sung (34 years old), worked as a public official at Seoul Metropolitan Government was arrested and indicted under National Security Act and others in February 2013. For his indictment, a confessional statement extracted from his sister together with other material evidences such as photos taken by Mr. Yu’s phone were submitted. Records of Chinese immigration were also submitted by investigating agents to the Seoul High Court (appellate court). However, serious contentions on the credibility of evidence have been raised.

In the process trial proceedings, his sister changed her earlier statement made at the Central Joint Interrogation Centre where new settlers from North Korea are detained for in-depth interviews by intelligence agents for not more than 6 months. She alleged that the interrogating agents conciliated that she could live together with Mr. Yu if she confessed that Mr. Yu was engaged in espionage. In addition, the agents inhumanly treated her by forcing her to stand in a pathway with a paper on her chest and back revealing her name and place of birth where other new settlers were passing inside the Centre. While being interrogated, she was not given any legal assistance.

On 22 August 2013, the Seoul Central District Court (lower court) ruled that Mr. Yu is freed from all charges of National Security Act but guilty of violation under the Act for Protection of North Korean Defectors and their Resettlement Assistance and the Passport Act. The court sentenced him one year in prison with hard labour and suspension of execution for 2 years. The case is appealed and currently at the Seoul High Court (appellate court).

Meanwhile, the defence lawyers for Mr. Yu examined the material evidence such as photos and immigration records submitted to the Court by the interrogating agency and alleged that some evidence was fabricated and others were concealed that were of benefit to Mr. Yu’s defence.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

The court in South Korea has convicted many persons for violation of the National Security Act based on confessions extracted by torture and ill-treatment during the military dictatorship period. Those cases were largely plotted by intelligence agencies. After the nation-wide democratisation movement followed by amendment of the Constitution in 1987, the convicted applied for legal reviews on their cases and accordingly, have been freed from criminal records in recent years. They have been now in a stage of getting state compensation.

Regardless of factual correction in later stage, those cases gave a lot of impact on the society triggering ‘red complex’ during that time.

Many civil organisations locally and internationally criticised the misuse of the Act and called for repeal or amendment of the Act for long decades. The UN Human Rights Committee also added its voice through individual communications and concluding observations on South Korea. Despite this, the government of South Korea has still argued

Dear ___________,

SOUTH KOREA: Investigating officials need to be investigated

Name of accused: Mr. Yu Woo-Sung (34 years old)
Names of alleged perpetrators: Officials of investigation and prosecution
Charges: Article 6(Infiltration and Escape), Article 8(Meeting, Correspondence, etc.), Article 9(Offer of convenience) of National Security Act; Act for Protection for North Korean Defectors and Their Resettlement Assistance; Passport Act
Details of case: Currently pending at the Seoul High Court (appellate court, case No. 2013No2728; Seoul Central District Court (lower court, case No. 2013Gohap186) ruled on 22 August 2013

I am writing to voice my deep concern regarding serious allegation of investigating agents who fabricated and concealed evidence submitted to the lower and appellate court in a case against Mr. Yu Woo-Sung charged with violations of various articles of National Security Act and others.

According to the information received, Mr. Yu Woo-Sung, a contract based official at Seoul Metropolitan Government was arrested and indicted based on confessional statement made by his sister who was detained at the Central Joint Interrogation Centre for almost 6 months where she was conciliated and inhumanly treated by interrogating officials to testify against Mr. Yu. His sister did not get legal assistance when she was interrogated. Her statement together with photos taken by Mr. Yu’s cell phone and immigration records were submitted to the lower court as evidence.

During the trial proceedings, Mr. Yu’s sister testified that her confession was not true and extracted through ill-treatment by interrogation agents. Accordingly, the Seoul Central District Court examined her confessional statement and decided not to take it up as evidence based on the lack of other supporting evidence on 22 August 2013. Both parties appealed and now the case is currently examining by Seoul High Court, appellate court in South Korea.

In the meantime, Mr. Yu’s sister was deported to China. Mr. Yu’s defence lawyers examined and discovered the fact that the photos that were taken by Mr. Yu’s phone in his alleged visit to North Korea argued by the prosecutors were in fact taken in China in his visit to his relatives residing in China. Despite the fact that other photos taken supported Mr. Yu’s contention, the prosecutors concealed them and did not submit them to Court.

The prosecutors had already secured Mr. Yu’s phone records in the process of investigation that proves that the phone was used in China. As it clarified that Mr. Yu stayed in China by testimonies of witnesses, the prosecutors changed the indictment and then belatedly submitted the records to argue that he entered into North Korea just because there was no phone call record in China from early morning to the evening of 24th of January 2012 and claimed that Mr. Yu was in North Korea in this period. However, they did not submit them before the trial started and concealed the records in order to indict him for entering into North Korea under National Security Act. (Investigators already secured Mr. Yu’s phone records from 22nd and 23rd of January 2012 but concealed them until the prosecutors indicted him arguing that he entered into North Korea on 22nd of January 2012, which turned out to be not true. Then, prosecutors submitted those phone records belatedly to make another false argument.)

In addition, during the trial proceedings at the Seoul High Court (appellate court), the prosecutors submitted new evidence against Mr. Yu of his immigration records allegedly issued by public security bureau of Hualong District, China. However, the authenticity of the records is in contention. According to the verification by defence lawyers, the bureau of Hualong District denied issuing the immigration records and noted that the records are managed by Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture. Furthermore, defence lawyers further argued that records were falsified and a seal used for authentication was not the same as it was used in an original authentication form.

It is appalling that the interrogating officials conciliated and humiliated Mr. Yu’s sister in order to extract her false confession at the Central Joint Interrogation Centre where she was kept for nearly 6 months and did not get any legal assistance during interrogation. Even though, she was deported to China, I urge you to investigate the allegation raised here and look into human rights violations at the Centre where no one can access except interrogation agents. I also urge you to establish an independent body to get access to the Centre so that those de facto detainees or defectors of North Korea kept for interrogation are able to reach out any possible violation if there is any. It seems a clear in breach of Article 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights if detainees at the Centre are deprived of getting legal assistance.

In relation to the case of Mr. Yu, I urge that the investigating and prosecuting officials involved in fabrication and concealment of evidence and obstructing justice in court proceedings to be investigated and prosecuted accordingly. In this regard, I wish to remind you of the article 12 (False Accusation and Fabrication) of the National Security Act which says: (1) Any person who makes a false accusation or evidence against a crime as prescribed by this Act, or who fabricates, destroys or conceals any evidence, with the intention of having another person punished by any penal disposition, shall be punished by the penalty as prescribed in the respective Article; (2) If a public official who is engaged in the duties of criminal investigation or intelligence, or his assistant, or a person who directs the said duties, commits the act as referred to in paragraph (1), abusing his authority, he shall also be punished by the penalty as referred to in a paragraph (1): Provided, That if the minimum of the legal punishment is under two years, it shall be two years.

Thank you for kind attention and I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely,

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PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:

1. Ms. Park Geun-Hye
President
1, Cheongwadae-ro, Jongno-gu
Seoul, 110-820
REPUBLIC OF KOREA
Fax: +82 2 770 4751
E-mail: foreign@president.go.kr or president@cwd.go.kr or president@president.go.kr

2. Mr. Hwang Kyo-Ahn
Minister of Justice
Building #1, Government Complex-Gwacheon
47 Gwanmun-ro, Gwacheon-si
Gyeonggi-do
REPUBLIC OF KOREA
Tel: +82 2 503 7023
Fax: +82 2 2110 3079 / 503 7046
E-mail: webmaster@moj.go.kr

3. Mr. Kim Jin-Tae
Prosecutor General
Supreme Prosecutor’s Office
157 Banpo-daero
Seocho-gu
Seoul 137-730
REPUBLIC OF KOREA
Fax: +82 2 3480 2337
Tel: +82 2 3480 2000
E-mail: koreapros@spo.go.kr

4. Mr. Lee Sung-Han
Commissioner General
Korean National Police Agency
97 Tongil-ro, Seodaemun-gu
Seoul 120-704
REPUBLIC OF KOREA
E-mail: cnpa100@police.go.kr

Thank you.

Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ua@ahrc.asia)

that the Act is necessary to protect national security.

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write a letter to the following government authorities to urge that all those responsible for ill-treatment and fabrication and concealment of evidence be investigated and prosecuted.

Please also be informed that the AHRC is writing separate letters to the UN Special Rapporteurs on torture, the Working Group on arbitrary detention calling for their interventions into this matter.

To support this case, please click here: SEND APPEAL LETTER