North Korean spy sent to kill Hwang Jang-yop fined for violating surveillance law after release

A North Korean spy who infiltrated South Korea on orders to assassinate former Korean Workers' Party Secretary Hwang Jang-yop has been punished again — this time for failing to comply with security surveillance requirements after his release from prison.

The Gwangju District Court on Thursday upheld a fine of 1 million won ($657) against the man, identified only as A, 52, a former agent of the Reconnaissance General Bureau under North Korea's Ministry of People's Armed Forces, on charges including violation of the Security Surveillance Act. The ruling affirmed the lower court's sentence on appeal.

A has refused to renounce his North Korean citizenship and continues to live in South Korea. He was indicted for failing to report his place of residence and other personal details to authorities as required.

Prosecutors had argued for detention, but the court — as it did at the first trial — accepted A's expressions of remorse and pledges to fulfill his legal obligations.

A infiltrated South Korea in December 2009 alongside a fellow agent, both disguised as North Korean defectors, on orders to kill Hwang, who had defected to the South in 1997.

Authorities grew suspicious of the pair's claimed defection and uncovered the plot during their investigation. A was subsequently convicted of violating the National Security Act and other charges and received a final sentence of 10 years in prison.

A was released in April 2020 after completing his sentence. He failed to fulfill his obligations under the Security Surveillance Act on a total of 20 occasions through last year.

Hwang, A's intended target, was the highest-ranking North Korean official to have defected to the South at the time of his 1997 defection.

After settling in the South, Hwang continued to campaign for Korean reunification and democratization in North Korea. He died of heart disease in October 2010 at the age of 87 at his home in Nonhyeon-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul.

선관위 “송파구 전체에는 투표지 4만여매 남았다…‘분배 실패’ 뼈아픈 실수”

https://biz.heraldcorp.com/article/10769842