|
Korea Times, December 2, 2003 Korean-German Scholar Goes on Trial By Na Jeong-ju The Seoul District Court on Tuesday held the first hearing for Korean-German professor Song Du-yul who was indicted last month on charges of violating the National Security Law. The central issue of contention was whether Song was a Politburo member of North Korea¡¯s ruling Workers¡¯ Party as claimed by the prosecution. The prosecution earlier said Song admitted to being a reserve member of Workers¡¯ Party Politburo, but the professor denied the claims, although he admitted to having joined the party. The hearing came as humanitarian groups were rallying around the professor to demand his release. Song, a 59 year-old philosophy professor at Muenster University in Germany, has been detained since Oct. 22 following intense questioning. His arrest came just one month after he set foot in his homeland for the first time after 37 years of exile. The scholar, an ardent supporter of Korean reunification, is being accused of organizing pro-North Korea activities in Germany and making unauthorized trips to Pyongyang. The Korean Bar Association, a group of liberal and reform-minded lawyers, earlier denounced the prosecution¡¯s use of handcuffs and ropes to bind Song during an inquiry and claimed investigators forced Song to confess his alleged Politburo membership. The prosecution said Song showed few signs of regret
over his past actions, even claiming that he still respects the late North
Korean leader Kim Il-sung. |