[Editorial] Gov't Should Ask U.S. to Be Responsible Ally

An immigration court in Los Angeles is allowing Seo Jae Sok, a former North Korean defector with South Korean citizenship, to receive asylum in the United States. The case could be appealed, but it looks like the decision will stir a lot of things up for our government and the National Assembly, which are having quite a hard time over North Korean human rights. Perhaps concerned about that, the U.S. government explained that Seo's case is an exception, and that there has been no change in policy.

In fact, even after the passage of the North Korean Human Rights Act in October 2004, the U.S. government has given asylum only to North Korean defectors without passports. It excluded defectors who had acquired South Korean citizenship. For defectors with South Korean citizenship to be given asylum a U.S. court needs to recognize that there are serious reasons why it is hard for them to establish themselves in the South and that they are victims of political oppression or human rights violations on the part of the South Korean government, but until now that has never happened. The U.S. would need to be prepared for diplomatic friction as well.

Though an exceptional case, this decision by an immigration court is for various reasons cause for concern. It says that should Seo be forcibly returned, he could face political reprisals and oppression from the North. It likely took into consideration his experience in 1999, when he defected the first time only to be forcibly repatriated by China and face hardships back in the North. The premise is that there exists the possibility the South Korean government could repatriate him to the North, too, which is preposterous.

We would like to think this decision originated in misunderstanding. That being the case, the government needs to emphasize to the U.S. administration the need for a responsible attitude as an ally. It needs to demand that the U.S. government appeals the decision, and in that process clarify what human rights standards are in South Korea, that there is no possibility Seo would be sent to the North, and that his safety is not threatened in the South. Furthermore, it needs to treat emigration requests by defectors in the South in a normal manner. It is truly sad to have North Korean defectors with South Korean citizenship sneak away to the U.S. and demand asylum and by doing so distort the truth about civil rights in the South.

The Hankyoreh, 1 May 2006.

[Translations by Seoul Selection]