Police Arrest 30-Year-Old Defector Attempting to Defect to North Korea via Cheorwon

"Allegation Clarification, Flight Risk"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] The police have arrested and are investigating a man in his 30s, a defector who attempted to defect to North Korea through Cheorwon-gun, Gangwon Province.

The Security Investigation Division of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency announced on the 20th that they are conducting a detention investigation of defector A on charges of violating the National Security Act.

On the previous day, Judge Kim Dong-hyun, head of the warrant review division at the Seoul Central District Court, conducted a pre-arrest suspect interrogation (warrant review) for A and stated, "The charges have been substantiated, and there is a risk that the suspect may flee," adding, "Considering the importance of matters related to national security, it is necessary to detain and investigate him," and issued an arrest warrant.

A is accused of attempting to defect to North Korea by infiltrating the training ground of the 3rd Division Tank Battalion located in Cheorwon-gun, Gangwon Province, around 9 a.m. on the 17th of this month, carrying four mobile phones and a cutter. A was discovered by military authorities during this process. Considering that A is a civilian, the military handed him over to the police. A is a defector who fled North Korea in 2018 and is currently reported to be residing in Seoul.

The police plan to investigate the specific circumstances such as the motive and method of the attempted defection to North Korea and then transfer him to the prosecution.