Korean-German Scholar Goes on Trial

By Na Jeong-ju
Staff Reporter
The Seoul District Court on Tuesday held the first hearing for
Korean-German professor Song Du-yul who was indicted last
month on charges of violating the National Security Law.

The central issue of contention was whether Song was a
Politburo member of North Korea’s ruling Workers’ Party as
claimed by the prosecution.

The prosecution earlier said Song admitted to being a reserve
member of Workers’ Party Politburo, but the professor denied
the claims, although he admitted to having joined the party.

The hearing came as humanitarian groups were rallying around
the professor to demand his release. Song, a 59 year-old
philosophy professor at Muenster University in Germany, has
been detained since Oct. 22 following intense questioning. His
arrest came just one month after he set foot in his homeland
for the first time after 37 years of exile.

The scholar, an ardent supporter of Korean reunification, is
being accused of organizing pro-North Korea activities in
Germany and making unauthorized trips to Pyongyang.

The Korean Bar Association, a group of liberal and
reform-minded lawyers, earlier denounced the prosecution’s
use of handcuffs and ropes to bind Song during an inquiry and
claimed investigators forced Song to confess his alleged
Politburo membership.

The prosecution said Song showed few signs of regret over his
past actions, even claiming that he still respects the late
North Korean leader Kim Il-sung. 

jj@koreatimes.co.kr 

12-02-2003 17:58