The government has officially classified an additional North Korean defector as a detained person in North Korea. This individual, Ham Jin-woo, disappeared while reporting from the North Korea-China border region in 2017.
On Wednesday, the Ministry of Unification announced that the government has decided to acknowledge one more detained person after consultations with relevant departments. This decision aims to broadly recognize the issue of victims caused by the division of the Korean Peninsula and to intensify efforts to resolve the detainee problem. They added that the ministry provisionally included Ham in the list last December and finalized the decision this March after further discussions with related agencies.
Previously, Unification Minister Chung Dong-young stated at a press conference in December that Ham would be added to the list of detained persons in North Korea. Ham, a former North Korean defector, is believed to have been abducted by North Korean authorities while reporting in the border region.
According to the Ministry of Unification’s detainee status page, North Korea currently holds seven individuals, including missionaries Kim Jung-wook, Kim Kook-ki, and Choi Chun-gil, as well as four North Korean defectors who have acquired South Korean citizenship.
The three missionaries, including Kim Jung-wook, have been detained for over 11 years. The status and whereabouts of the other three detainees have remained completely unknown for a decade since March to May 2016.
The Ministry of Unification explained that there have been ongoing calls both domestically and internationally for the recognition and release of an additional North Korean defector. They added that immediately after the abduction, a task force was established in the National Assembly to propose a release plan, and the U.S. State Department’s human rights report on North Korea has already classified the individual as a detainee.
Starting in November 2023, the Ministry of Unification has recognized the families of detainees as victims of abduction under the Law on Compensation and Support for Victims of Abduction After the Conclusion of the Military Armistice Agreement and has begun to provide consolation payments. Families of detainees residing in South Korea can apply for victim consolation payments, which will be disbursed following a review by the compensation review committee.