Digital Chosunilbo, December 2, 2003

Interest Groups Duel on First Day of Song Trial

by Jeon Suyong (jsy@chosun.com)

The trial of Song Du-yul, the sociologist and longtime resident of Germany arrested on charges of violating the National Security Law, opened Tuesday at the Seoul District Court.

"I've really been waiting for this day," Song said during his opening statement. "The people and the whole world are watching this trial, one opening in a tense situation where the old and the new are in collision."

"In Greek there's a word, 'epoche', which refers to 'turning point' and means 'momentary stop.' Right now I'm held in a space only the size of a pyeong, but am taking it as preparation for a new beginning," he added, in reference to the size of his prison cell. One pyeong is 3.3 square meters.

The presiding judge had to tell some in the audience to stop applauding at one point during the proceedings, and later the trial was temporarily stopped when members of the Korean Veterans Association called Song a "commie" and yelled other obscenities.

Song's defense took issue with each phrase of the prosecution's charges. His attorney, Kim Hyeong-tae, cited how rules of the North Korean Workers' Party state specific means of choosing alternative members of the politburo, and noted that the charges failed to state when and how Song was allegedly chosen for the position. The prosecution responded only that it this would be revealed during the course of the trial.

While confirming issues relating to Song's person, prosecutors asked if he is "currently employed as a visiting professor at Munster University," to which Song responded "That's professor, not visiting professor. The system's different and [his academic position] can't be translated into Korean."

When asked if he'd ever received "instructions" from Pyongyang, he demanded the prosecution "correct [the record] to say I received 'messages', not 'instructions'."

Song denied most of the charges.

Before the trial, a local organization working in Song's defense delivered a petition to the court signed by about 920 persons, many of whom were scholars of Korean studies from around the world. A group calling itself the "Emergency Meeting to Maintain Security" and composed of members of the veterans association and other groups issued a statement calling for "strict and heavy punishment for North Korean operative Song Du-yul, in accordance with the law."

Song was arrested on November 20 and charged with being an "alternative member" of the Politburo of North Korea's Workers' Party and, during the course of 22 visits to Pyongyang since 1973, of receiving orders to spread the North's official ideology at academic conferences and through scholarly writings.