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The daughter and granddaughter of Son Ju-bok, who was shot as a spy in North Korea 10 years ago, have fled the North and are living in a third country in hiding from the authorities there. They escaped in June 2004 but are still not sure whether they can go to Seoul and enjoy freedom there.
Son was shot for aiding the Rev. An Seung-woon, who had been abducted to the North, and the South Korean secret service. His wife and two sons were hauled to the North Korean Ministry of Public Security and the State Security Department and have not been heard from since.
According to his daughter Son Young-hee (not her real name, 46), Son was a member of the North Korean elite. Son was a member of the North Korean elite. He graduated from Beijing University and worked for a North Korean state-run trading agency. The turning point came when he met the Rev. An in 1991. Son converted to Christianity and started to do missionary work in the North, smuggling bibles and 20-30 US$100 notes from his trips to China.
The North Korean authorities became suspicious, but as scrutiny from the regime increased, the daughter says, Son would tell them, ¡°Seoul will take care of us all. How long do you think this society can survive? Once the two Koreas are unified, it¡¯ll all be over. Let¡¯s earn some more money and go to the South.¡±
¡°My father worked for the Agency for National Security Planning¡± ? the precursor of South Korea¡¯s National Intelligence Service ? ¡°and provided information he got from the North Korean regime to the South. He received money from Seoul, which he gave to North Koreans,¡± the daughter says. ¡°He spied for South Korea, doing missionary work and winning North Koreans over to supporting the South.¡± In March 1996 Son was shot for being ¡°a resident spy systematically trained by the U.S.¡±
His family was ruined. Choi Sung-yong (54), the head of the Family Assembly Abducted to North Korea, an activist group for families of South Koreans abducted by North Korea, on Monday handed the Chosun Ilbo five pictures which prove the connection. The pictures show Choi, the Rev. An and two ANSP officials posing together near the North Korea-China border town of Tumen in 1994. Son¡¯s daughter points at one of the ANSP officials in the pictures and said, ¡°My father told me, ¡®Go and see him. He won¡¯t dare to ignore what I did for the agency and the country and should help you.¡¯¡±
The NIS has refused requests from the Chosun Ilbo to identify the operatives in the pictures and warned they cannot be published.
In the meantime, Son¡¯s daughter and granddaughter are in hiding from authorities that could deport them back to the North, desperately waiting for an invitation to come to South Korea. ¡°I received a request from Son Young-hee to bring her and her daughter to Seoul last April, and I told the NIS about it, but the agency has done nothing for the last two months¡±, Choi said. ¡°The NIS was in neglect of duty when it didn¡¯t take active measures to bring back the Rev. An and bring Son¡¯s family to South Korea despite all the help it¡¯s had from them.¡±
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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