[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 116 (Thursday, August 1, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1457-E1459]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  THE HUMAN RIGHTS SITUATION IN KOREA

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, August 1, 1996

  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, the Subcommittee on 
International Operations and Human Rights, which I chair, was briefed 
by Kim Sang-Chul, chairman of the Korea American Friendship Society. I 
am inserting his comprehensive statement in the Record for the 
information of my colleagues:

  Remarks by Kim Sang-Chul, Chairman, Korea America Friendship Society

       Honorable Chairman, and members: I wish to thank you for 
     inviting me here to speak on the human rights situation in 
     Korea.


                        i. introductory remarks

       Korea has a checkered history. It has experienced numerous 
     foreign invasions throughout its 5000-year history. However, 
     it has managed to keep its independence and its people have 
     made the country what it is today--a democratic, independent 
     and economically thriving country--through patience, 
     perseverance, and hard work.
       From ancient times, we have been called the white-clad 
     people for our love of purity and justice, symbolized by 
     Koreans' traditional white clothing. Korea is a small nation 
     in terms of its territory. But it is not small in terms of 
     its aspirations. We have achieved miraculous economic growth 
     and established a democratic government through fair 
     elections in a short period of time. We are optimistic about 
     our future. We will probably be able to join the ranks of 
     advanced countries in the first part of the next century, 
     thereby allowing us to play a more important role in the 
     international community for the promotion of world peace, 
     freedom, justice and prosperity.
       Our successful journey on the path toward economic 
     prosperity and political freedom could not, by any means, be 
     described as smooth. We endured hardship for 36 years under 
     Japanese colonial rule. The nation was in chaos and the 
     national economy was completely devastated as a result of the 
     Korean War.
       Thanks to the sacrifices of our allies, we were able to 
     fend off communist aggression and achieve peace, however 
     fragile it may be.
       Thanks to the support of our allies and friends, we were 
     able to overcome the devastation of the tragic war, rebuild 
     the nation and its economy, achieve freedom and establish a 
     democratic government.
       The road leading to freedom and democracy in Korea has been 
     bumpy. We were under the rule of military governments for 
     almost 30 years from 1961 through 1992. There is no denying 
     that many human rights violations occurred during this 
     period.


               II. HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA

       On September 26, 1985, I met Mr. Kim Keun-Tae at the 
     prosecutor's office. Mr. Kim was in custody for investigation 
     of his alleged anti-government activities. He revealed that 
     he was tortured with electric shocks and water-torture and 
     showed me the wounds on the back of his foot. I was deeply 
     distressed for three days after seeing his wounds. I decided 
     to follow my conscience and submit an unprecedented 
     application for a court order to preserve evidence of Mr. 
     Kim's wounds.
       The revelation of Mr. Kim's torture was a very strong 
     challenge to the powerful Chun Doo-Whan government. As a 
     result of my action, the judge had to provide Mr. Kim an 
     opportunity to make a detailed statement about his suffering 
     caused by the torture during the investigation.
       Mr. Kim's 40-minute-long statement shocked the courtroom 
     audience and the press, which somehow managed to report parts 
     of Mr. Kim's testimony.
       As a consequence, the telephones in my law office and my 
     residence were tapped and government auditors began an 
     investigation of my tax returns.
       However, I prevailed in a lawsuit against the policemen who 
     tortured Mr. Kim and in a suit demanding compensation for the 
     damage he suffered.
       On July 5, 1986, as one of the lawyers of a nine-member 
     legal team, I filed a lawsuit against the police officers 
     responsible for the sexual torture of Kwon In-Sook, a female 
     college student.
       I remember delivering to Ms. Kwon a secret letter from 
     Cardinal Kim Su-Whan, in which he encouraged her in her time 
     of distress and agony.
       The exposure of the sexual torture incident created a 
     backlash against police brutality and the immorality of the 
     government. On Jan. 14, 1987, another case of torture by the 
     police resulted in the death of a Seoul National University 
     student. The death of Pak Chong-Chol shocked citizens and the 
     popular anti-government movement started to expand.
       On April 13, 1987, President Chun refused to accept a 
     direct presidential election to choose his successor. In May, 
     as a member of the executive committee of the Citizens 
     Movement for a Democratic Constitution, I participated in a 
     peaceful march that drew the enthusiastic support of people 
     across the nation.
       The ruling party's presidential candidates, Roh Tae-Woo, 
     had to issue his so-called July 29 declaration, accommodating 
     the people's demand for a direct presidential election and 
     other democratization measures.
       In ten years, even the rivers and mountains will change, 
     according to an old Korean saying. We are witnessing 
     tremendous changes in my country these days. Two former 
     presidents of Korea are in custody pending their trials on 
     various criminal charges. On the other hand, Kim Keun-Tae is 
     a vice president of the major opposition party and one of his 
     old friends who attended his trial is now the spokesman for 
     the ruling party.
       How we evaluate the present political situation in the 
     Republic of Korea, including the human rights situation and 
     the national security situation, is by no means a simple 
     issue. It is rather complicated. I will, however, pick out a 
     few important issues and try to present an objective view of 
     the current situation in Korea. I believe that there is a 
     consensus that the human rights situation in the Republic of 
     Korea has improved significantly.
       There could be some isolated human rights violations which 
     are not uncommon even in the most developed countries. At 
     present I am really concerned about violent demonstrations, 
     the irresponsibility of the press and citizen's lack of a 
     sense of duty.
       The National Security Law of the Republic of Korea has been 
     the focus of the attention of the U.S. Government. I proposed 
     the repeal of the National Security Law and suggested that 
     the government include its relevant articles in the criminal 
     code when I submitted my opinion on the revision of criminal 
     law in Jan. 1985. I also proposed the replacement of the 
     National Security Law with the Protection of Democratic Order 
     Law when I was a national policy adviser to Kim Young-sam, 
     the then presidential candidate of the opposition party.
       However, I completely changed my mind after cautiously 
     watching the advent of the so-called ``Mass Revolution'' 
     movement since 1989. Korea is the only country in the world 
     which is divided into two opposing ideological camps: the 
     democratic and free Republic of Korea and the communist North 
     Korea. North Korea has tried to overthrow the government of 
     the Republic of Korea ever since its establishment. We should 
     not forget that North Korea's military forces are heavily 
     concentrated along the Demilitarized Zone, about 30 miles 
     from Seoul. It will take only six minutes for North Korea's 
     fighter planes to reach Seoul. These fighter planes were 
     relocated closer to the DMZ last October.
       A North Korean agent, Kim Tong-shick, was arrested after a 
     gun fight when he was discovered by South Korean police last 
     October. He was heavily armed. He confirmed that besides his 
     most recent infiltration he was sent to the Republic of Korea 
     five years ago, when he crossed the border to North Korea 
     with a high-ranking North Korean female agent who operated in 
     the south for 12 years since 1980, and newly recruited labor 
     movement leaders in the South.
       He made contacts with Ham Wun-Kyung, who led a violent 
     demonstration and sit-in at the USIA in Seoul, and other 
     student activists. Kim revealed his identity and discussed

[[Page E1458]]

     cooperation with the activists for the ``revolution'' in the 
     South. Just a few of them reported his identity to the 
     authorities.
       It is quite natural and necessary for a nation to equip 
     itself with the legal devices to safeguard its national 
     security in the face of a threat to its survival through 
     espionage activities and the resultant chaos. Germany 
     deals with such violations through its penal code but 
     Korea handles anti-state activities with the National 
     Security Law.
       There have been some criticisms of the law's interpretation 
     and applications. However, the repeal of the law will create 
     a legal vacuum for the regulation of illegal activities short 
     of sedition or attempted overthrow of the government. And the 
     previous National Security Law violators should be pardoned.
       Second, according to the labor laws of the Republic of 
     Korea, the formation of a union is prohibited for public 
     servants and school teachers and only one union is allowed in 
     one work place. The freedom to organize a labor union, 
     stipulated in the international Labor Organization 
     provisions, could be in direct conflict with Korean labor 
     laws.
       A traditional labor union concept is based on the 
     assumption that antagonism and conflict between labor and 
     management are inevitable. In the case of public servants, 
     the management is the people of the nation, and in the case 
     of school teachers, the management is the people or nonprofit 
     public organizations.
       From Korea's traditional ethical point of view, their 
     relationship should not be that of antagonism but that of 
     service to the public cause. In particular, school teachers 
     are not treated as labor in our society. They are respected 
     for their service and their mission to teach our youths. The 
     Korean labor laws containing the prohibition against unions 
     for school teachers and public servants are overwhelmingly 
     supported in Korea.
       It is debatable whether allowing multiple unions is a basic 
     factor for free unionism. In addition, multiple unions will 
     further complicate things and cause more frequent labor 
     disputes and antagonism, and therefore, it is construed to be 
     not more than a demand by labor activists and failed to get 
     wide support in Korea.
       Essentially, freedom should be guaranteed by all means. The 
     concept of fundamental social rights and their application 
     varies according to a nation's culture, characteristics and 
     its composition. What really matters is not the difference in 
     the system itself but a nation's willingness to accept the 
     fundamental principle of human rights. I dare say that the 
     Republic of Korea is one of these countries.
       Third, let us turn our attention to the anti-establishment 
     activists in Korea. It is a fact that there were some 
     followers of the socialist's line of armed revolution and 
     North Korea's communist juche ideology hidden among those who 
     proudly fought for freedom and democracy under the 
     dictatorial military governments.
       Distinguishing between these two groups of people was not 
     an easy matter then. But, as Korea advances toward political 
     maturity, it became easier to identify their true colors. The 
     anti-establishment activists deny the legitimacy of the 
     Korean government, ignore law and order, and use violence to 
     achieve their objectives. They should not be treated as 
     conscientious activists who work within the system.
       Fourth, I wish to briefly mention the separated family 
     issue as a human rights issue. As Dr. Albert Schweitzer once 
     said, the freedom to visit or live in one's hometown is one 
     of the fundamental human rights. This very human right is 
     grossly violated in Korea because of North Korea's inhumane 
     and uncompromising stance toward the separated family issue. 
     Ten million separated families do not know their relatives' 
     whereabouts and there is no channel of communication between 
     them whatsoever.
       The Korean government has repeatedly proposed to North 
     Korea measures to facilitate reunions of and communication 
     between the separated families but to no avail. It is tragic 
     not to have your own family with whom to share happiness and 
     sorrow. My family is one of the separated families. My father 
     was longing to hear something about his father and uncles. 
     But he died last August without his wishes being fulfilled.


                    III. HUMAN RIGHTS IN NORTH KOREA

       Now I would like to take a look at the status of the human 
     rights situation in North Korea.
       The death of Kim II-Sung did not change anything in North 
     Korea. North Korea continues to be a closed society, isolated 
     from the international community.
       North Korea maintains the same dictatorial communist regime 
     under the same ``juche'' ideology and the obsessive cult of 
     personality. Politically, the North Korean people are living 
     in an extensive gulag. Economically, they are plagued by low 
     productivity, a shortage of food, a shortage of energy and 
     foreign currency, and its economy has registered negative 
     economic growth for quite some time. While having to tighten 
     its closed-door policy to maintain the present political 
     structure, its economic problems can not be solved without 
     opening its doors, structural adjustment, and economic 
     reform. In addition, the complete blockade of information and 
     criticism is destroying any human rights initiatives in North 
     Korea.
       North Korea's military buildup has continued, which is 
     incomprehensible to anyone of sound judgement. It has 
     consistently carried out espionage activities to disrupt the 
     Republic of Korea. In the latter part of this year, they 
     dispatched two teams of armed agents to the South.
       Their ``Reunification Through Revolution'' policy is a 
     combined strategy of underground sabotage and a full-scale 
     attack. Their war strategy is first to make an all-out 
     bliztkrieg in the front and rear simultaneously and end the 
     war before U.S. reinforcements arrive on the battlefield.
       It is believed that North Korea's extensive stockpiling of 
     weapons testifies to their willingness to go to war. There 
     seems to be a consensus within North Korea that the 
     liberation of South Korea should be the ultimate policy goal 
     of the government and the only way to end its poverty and its 
     hopeless economic reality.
       Whenever I hear something about the status of human rights 
     in North Korea, it sends a shiver down my spine.
       I think it can be safely said that there are no human 
     rights in North Korea. There is certainly no freedom of 
     speech, no freedom of the press, no freedom of assembly, no 
     freedom of religion. The people of North Korea can not select 
     their own jobs, nor can they decide for themselves where to 
     live.
       ``The Ten Fundamental Principles Concerning the Solid 
     Establishment of Juche Ideology'' proclaimed in 1974 is, in 
     fact, above the constitutional law as well as the criminal 
     codes in North Korea. Article 3, section 9 stipulates that 
     the ``Great Leader's'' and the ``Dear Leader's'' instructions 
     and the Labor Party's policies should be implemented without 
     fail. No compromise is allowed.
       Even minor violations will result in death or incarceration 
     of the violators and his family in the gulag.
       North Korea's obvious intention of manufacturing nuclear 
     arms and its possession of chemical weapons are a great 
     threat to the national security of the Republic of Korea.
       North Koreans live in fear and dire poverty, struggling to 
     survive. They have lost the respect for the dignity of the 
     human being, and are indoctrinated to hate outsiders, 
     especially the so-called American imperialists and their 
     puppets.
       Let me give you some examples. Without permission, North 
     Koreans are not allowed to change their residence or to 
     travel. As a result, North Koreans who have visited 
     Pyongyang, the capital city, constitute only 5% of the 
     population. 45% of the North Korean territory, including 
     military bases and seashores, is off limits to civilians. 
     They can not write letters and can not freely talk on the 
     phone even with their friends and relatives in North Korea. 
     They have no free access to television, radio, or newspapers 
     other than political propaganda.
       There are more tragic stories. It has become known that 
     there are 50,000 residents in a concentration camp called 
     ``Camp 15'' located in Yuduck Kun, South Hamkyung province. 
     People are thrown into the camp without a judicial trial. In 
     the camp, there is believed to be a ``completely restricted 
     zone'' from which no one can get out once they have been sent 
     into it. This has been known to the outside world through the 
     statements of Mr. Ahn Hyeok and Mr. Kang Chul-Whan who 
     escaped from the camp in March 1992 and defected to South 
     Korea through China. People in the camp are treated as ``less 
     than animals,'' suffer forced labor, live in dire poverty, 
     and are exposed to various diseases. It has been reported 
     that 200,000 people, or 1% of the total 20 million people of 
     North Korea are confined in the inhumane detention camps 
     throughout North Korea.
       It has been reported that the North Korean government 
     deported the handicapped and their families from the cities 
     of Pyongyang, Nampo, Gaesong, Chungjin where foreigners 
     frequent, to remote areas. It has also been reported that 
     there has been a nationwide campaign to ``dry out the seeds'' 
     of dwarfs, that is, prevent the births of babies with such 
     birth defects.
       There was the case of a North Korean who smuggled in a 
     large quantity of heroin and was found to be a staff member 
     of the Social Security Department of the government of North 
     Korea. This happened near Vladivostok, Russia in June 1994. 
     This shows the very nature of the collective leadership in 
     North Korea.
       At the time North Korea was receiving 150,000 tons of rice 
     free-of-charge from South Korea, it captured the 
     ``Woosungyho'', a South Korean fishing vessel, which was a 
     drifting because of engine failure. The North Koreans killed 
     2 members of the crew and still refuse to return the other 
     fishermen on board the ship. North Korea also refuses to 
     return Reverend Ahn Seung Woon, who was kidnapped to the 
     North. As of now the total number of people kidnapped by the 
     North has reached 400.
       There are 42,000 churches with 10 million Protestant 
     Christians and 3 million Catholics in the South but in the 
     North, only 2 Protestant churches and 1 Catholic church exist 
     and these are for exhibition purposes.
       What more would we need to explain? There are no human 
     rights for North Koreans. They are treated as slaves, or no 
     better than disposable resources.
       The North Korean leaders are nothing but a collective group 
     which uses violence as its main weapon. They rule through 
     suppression, violence and punishment with little regard for 
     human dignity.
       As you all know there have been innumerable cases of human 
     rights violations in North Korea and I have presented just a 
     few. Any diplomatic relationship with North

[[Page E1459]]

     Korea and any promise for economic aid would mean extending 
     support to a violent and inhumane regime which has no respect 
     for human rights. If we are to avoid the inadvertent support 
     for a dictatorial regime, we should be alert. Improvement of 
     the human rights situation in North Korea has to be a 
     prerequisite to the normalization of diplomatic relations. 
     Such improvements must include freedom of religion and 
     communication among the separated families.


                         iv. concluding remarks

       Ladies and gentlemen!
       The North Korean leaders are manipulating the negotiation 
     process to create a breach between South Korea and the United 
     States. Cleverly taking advantage of Korean people's love for 
     peace by threatening a ``sea of fire'', they are attempting 
     to get what they want without any intention of improving 
     relations between the two Koreas.
       ``The Korean peninsula is threatened by war'' is not simply 
     rhetoric but a reality. Especially if there is an unstable 
     political situation in the Republic of Korea any sign of 
     weakness in the Korea-U.S. security ties might encourage 
     North Korea to launch a war.
       Korea is a country with optimism and vision. Korea will 
     overcome any adversities and suffering. Korea will not forget 
     its debt to its friends and allies.
       Our nation is greatly indebted to the United States in our 
     march toward political freedom, economic development and 
     peace on the Korean peninsula. The people of the United 
     States fought the Korean War, shoulder to shoulder with us to 
     deter communist aggression; they provided aid when we were 
     poor and hungry; they opened their market for Korean 
     products.
       The Korea-America Friendship Society was established in 
     1991 when anti-US sentiment was at its highest to remind 
     Korean citizens of who are our enemies and who are our 
     friends, and to help contribute to strengthening relations 
     between the two countries.
       The United States has made enormous contributions to the 
     protection of freedom, the expansion of human rights, a free 
     market, and open societies throughout the world. I believe 
     these beautiful American traditions will be passed on to 
     future generations.
       Because I am well aware of the importance of this 
     opportunity given to me, I have tried my best to make a 
     presentation as objectively as I can.
       I sincerely request you to be cautious observers of the 
     real situation on the Korean peninsula, and offer your wise 
     judgments on what the United States should do for peace, 
     freedom justice and prosperity for the world as well as the 
     Korean peninsula.
       Thank you very much.

                          ____________________