'Nine Family Members and Wooden Boat Defection' Kim Ihyeok Passes Away... "Cannot Endure the Emptiness"

'Defection with Family on Wooden Boat' Kim Ihyeok's Sad News
"Passed Away Due to Unexpected Diving Accident"
Also Appeals for Importance of North Korea Information Inflow

It has been reported that North Korean defector Kim Ihyuk has passed away. Channel A's "Now Going to Meet You"

It has been confirmed that Kim Ihyeok, a defector who escaped North Korea by boat with nine family members, has died in a sudden accident.

On the 5th, the YouTube channel 'Lee Cheol-eun NK TV' informed subscribers of Kim's death through a community post. The operator, Lee Cheol-eun, is a former officer (senior rank) of the Hwanghae Namdo Security Department under the State Security Department, North Korea's secret police agency directly under the Chairman of the State Affairs Commission. He successfully defected by swimming across the sea in 2016. He opened his message by saying, "I am deeply saddened to share this unexpected news from the Netherlands," and added, "I regret to inform you of the sad news that Kim Ihyeok, who risked his life to escape by boat into the West Sea with his family in 2023, passed away yesterday due to an unexpected diving accident."

He continued, "As someone from the same hometown, my heart breaks and I cannot bear the emptiness over the passing of Kim Ihyeok, who had only days left to live happily in the Republic of Korea, a free democratic country, after leaving the oppressed and despised land of North Korea." He expressed his sorrow and said, "I hope that the path Kim Ihyeok takes will be a happy one free from oppression and exploitation, as he was actively playing a pioneering role in exposing the absurdities of the North Korean regime and the atrocities of Kim Jong-un." He concluded with, "I offer my deepest condolences. I hope this brings comfort to his family."

Defectors Kim Ihyeok and his wife. YouTube channel 'Kim Ihyeok Yumi TV'

Kim was a figure who successfully defected by crossing the West Sea NLL in a wooden boat from Gangryeong County, Hwanghae Namdo, with nine family members in May last year. After settling in South Korea, he actively raised his voice about the realities of North Korea by attending various events as a defector and operated the YouTube channel 'Kim Ihyeok Yumi TV.' In June, he appeared on Channel A's entertainment program 'Now, We Meet' to share his defection story. Through the broadcast, he revealed, "In North Korea, I operated three boats as the head of a foreign currency-earning enterprise, earning up to 50 dollars a day. Even diplomats earned just about one dollar a month, so I was extremely wealthy." He added, "When the sea was closed due to COVID-19, I became disillusioned by the food shortage and decided to defect. After three attempts, I succeeded."

One month later, in July, he participated in a 'Roundtable with Defectors' event hosted by the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee's Indo-Pacific Subcommittee, urging lawmakers on the importance of inflowing information into North Korea. At the time, he said, "The inflow of external information is very important. If I had not known that there was a world outside North Korea, I would not have defected by boat." He added, "The most concerning point is that even at this moment, many new generations in North Korea are only receiving education from the Kim regime and are being brainwashed to believe that 'the main enemies of the nation are the United States and South Korea.'"