Chinese Police Searched Chosun’s Beijing Office

Last August 31, 7 Chinese police officers, without warrant, entered the Chosun Daily’s Beijing office, investigated its Beijing correspondent Yuh Shi-dong and confiscated some of the documents, thus raising a great controversy.

The officers (5 in uniform, and 2 in plain clothes) forcefully opened the door at around 11:30 p.m. without any previous notice. They said, “We are here to survey the status of Foreigners’ residency.” Then, with their shoes on, they pushed their way into the room and interrogated correspondent Yuh for almost 2 hours, asking questions like: “When did you move in?” “Who owns the house?” and “Did you register your residence?”.

Some of the officers who disclosed themselves as belonging to the Beijing Police and Chaoyang Police searched the office while Yuh was being investigated, and took some documents related to North Korean refugees in China, along with Yuh’s passport, residence permit and press ID.

Sources in China analyzed, “Chinese police’s searching of Chosun’s Beijing office seems closely related to the recent situation caused by North Koreans in China.”

They added, “Chinese police are heard to have closely monitored the Korean media’s coverage of North Korean refugees’ moves in Beijing and the movement of Beijing correspondents.”

In the meanwhile, Korean Embassy in China sent a harsh protest on September 2, 2002, to Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and requested for China’s promise to prevent such future events. But as of the afternoon of September 2, it did not receive any official response from China.

yshwang@donga.com