Korean-German scholar Song Du-yul received the third Ahn Joong-guen Peace Prize on Friday.

The Association for Commemoration Patriotic Martyr Ahn Joong-guen announced Thursday it selected Song as the winner of the peace prize, an award given to people who promote peace on the Korean peninsula.

The organization was founded to commemorate Ahn, an independence activist, who in 1909 assassinated Ito Hirobumi, the first resident general of Korea, which became a virtual protectorate of Japan in 1905.

``Song, an exiled professor, who suffered the ideological struggle between South and North Korea, is a symbol of the Korean people’s hardships. He embodies Ahn’s devotion to the country, people and peace in Northeast Asia,’’ the association cited as the reason for selecting Song.

Detained for alleged pro-North Korean activities, since Oct. 22 last year, Song said in a written statement, ``Though Ahn’s assassination brought destruction, it was also an act of protest to bring peace and sever the cycle of violence. I’ll accept the prize as an encouragement to work toward a unified homeland according to Ahn’s will.’’

The professor returned to Korea in September last year after 37 years in exile in Germany, but was indicted for violating the National Security Law, which bans South Korean citizens from making unauthorized visits to North Korea or working for the communist country.

The prosecution demanded a 15-year prison term for him on March 9 on charges of spying for the North. A local court is scheduled to issue its verdict on Song on March 30.