Office of the President: "Six South Koreans Detained in North Korea... Will Resolve Through Inter-Korean Dialogue"

Presidential Office: "Six Citizens Detained in North Korea Since 2013"
Lee, When Asked About the Issue at Foreign Press Briefing
"This Is the First I Am Hearing of It; When and Under What Circumstances?"

President Lee Jae-myung is designating questioners at the foreign press conference titled "Democracy Newly Established, One Year" held on the 3rd at the Blue House State Guest House. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

The Office of the President announced on December 4 that, regarding the issue of South Korean citizens detained in North Korea, "We will work to resolve the matter by making efforts to promptly resume inter-Korean dialogue based on national consensus."

In a press release issued that day, the Office of the President stated, "Currently, six of our citizens, including three North Korean defectors, have been detained on charges such as espionage from 2013 to 2016," adding, "With dialogue and exchanges between the two Koreas having been suspended for a long time, the suffering of our people due to division continues, and resolving this issue is urgent."

All of the citizens detained in North Korea, except for the North Korean defectors, are missionaries. Kim Jungwook (detained in October 2013), Kim Gukgi (detained in October 2014), and Choi Chungil (detained in December 2014) are currently being held. The identities of the three North Korean defectors have not been disclosed in consideration of the safety of their families still in North Korea.

On the previous day, President Lee Jaemyung held a press conference for foreign media at the Blue House State Guesthouse to mark one year since the declaration of martial law. When asked, "Several South Korean citizens are being held in North Korea. What efforts will you make as President?" he replied, "This is the first I am hearing of it."

President Lee then turned to National Security Advisor Wi Sunglak, who was present, and asked, "Is it true that South Korean citizens are being held? When and under what circumstances? Please explain." Wi replied, "There are many cases where people go in and cannot come out, or are detained under other circumstances that have not been made public," and added, "We need to look into the timing."

The NK News reporter who asked the question further explained, "There were cases between 2014 and 2017 where people were detained on espionage charges, or North Korean defectors were forcibly repatriated from China." President Lee responded by saying, "These incidents happened a very long time ago, so there is a lack of specific information," and deferred his answer, stating he would look into it further.