A person surnamed Park, the so-called liaison for the "Chungbuk Comrades Association," who was indicted on charges of engaging in espionage activities, received a finalized sentence of five years in prison at the Supreme Court on the 11th. The outcome is the same as the second trial.
The Supreme Court's First Division (Presiding Justice Oh Seok-jun) on this day dismissed Park's appeal in the final appeal of the case in which Park was indicted on charges including violating the National Security Act (special infiltration and escape), and upheld the second-instance ruling that sentenced Park to five years in prison and five years of disqualification.
Four executives of the Chungbuk Comrades Association, including Park, were indicted on charges of receiving $20,000 in operational funds from North Korea and reporting on domestic conditions. Park was known as the liaison for the group.
They are accused of dividing roles among themselves and exchanging dozens of directive and report documents with the North in the form of encrypted files, engaging in activities such as detecting and leaking state secrets and domestic conditions. They are also accused of receiving operational funds amounting to $20,000 and carrying out activities opposing the introduction of F-35A stealth fighters in North Chungcheong Province.
In the first trial, the court sentenced Park to 14 years in prison and 14 years of disqualification and remanded Park into custody in the courtroom. The first-instance court found Park guilty of organizing a criminal group, meeting and communication under the National Security Act, and receiving money and valuables. The first-instance panel said, "The defendant formed the Self-reliant Unification Chungbuk Comrades Association and delivered operational funds to North Korean agents overseas, thereby jeopardizing the basic order of liberal democracy," and added, "The crime was meticulously planned in advance, and given that the trial was intentionally delayed through a request for recusal, the culpability is grave." Both Park and the prosecution appealed the first-instance ruling.
The appellate court overturned the first-instance ruling and sentenced Park to five years in prison and five years of disqualification. The appellate court found Park guilty on charges including violating the National Security Act. However, unlike the first trial, it acquitted Park of the charge of organizing a criminal group. The appellate panel said, "Based solely on the evidence submitted by the prosecutor, it is difficult to see that it has been proven beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant organized a 'criminal group' that established a system capable of repeatedly carrying out crimes by allocating roles under the common purpose of committing offenses under the National Security Act."
Park also appealed the second-instance ruling. However, the Supreme Court found no fault with the appellate judgment and finalized the same sentence of five years in prison on this day.
Meanwhile, a person surnamed Son, the Chairperson of the Chungbuk Comrades Association, who was indicted on the same charges and tried separately, received a finalized sentence of two years in prison and two years of disqualification at the Supreme Court in Mar., while a person surnamed Park, the adviser, and a person surnamed Yoon, the vice chairperson, each received finalized sentences of five years in prison and five years of disqualification.