[Editorial] Song Du-yul Should No Longer Put On a Mask

Song Du-yul gave an interview under the title of ‘Self-Reflection on Past Activities’ and explained his 30-year history of pro-North Korean activities, but he seemed urgently striving to justify himself with vague reasoning rather than successfully convincing the people.

While saying,“I was never informed of, nor did I ever accept being a nonstanding member of the politburo of North Korea’s Workers` Party,” Song also added, “They forced the Worker’s Party cap on me, so I was in mind to evaluate the situation.” Just looking at what he said proves that he knew he was a nonstanding member of the Worker’s Party. Although he knew, the fact that he brought a case against Hwang Jang-yup and denied the truth when he first arrived in Korea makes us question his dignity as a scholar.

Song claimed himself as a ‘boundary man’ who tried to both love and criticize the two Koreas at the same time, but nothing can reverse the suspicion that his assertion only proves he was far past that ‘boundary’ and chose and supported the North Korean regime. It is dumbfounding to hear the only example of the criticisms he had for the North Koreans was “Party leaders shouldn’t smoke foreign cigarettes” when he used to preach to us to view North Korean dictatorship, violating of human rights, and propaganda ruling with an “internal approach”.

Although he explained that the $100,000 he received from North Korea was for research and travel expenses, he should have disclosed the fact that he joined the Worker’s Party and received operational funds so that the South Korean scholars and students could have made a clear judgment. He is at fault for disguising himself to deceive many South Koreans and encouraging pro-North Korean movement. Even if he led a anti-revitalizing reform dictatorship system campaign, the movement to support North Korean dictatorship cannot be classified as a movement for democratization in Korea.

If Song had supposedly thoroughly undergone ‘self-reflection’, he should have confessed all his pro-North Korean activities and asked for forgiveness upon his arrival. With continuous denial and disclaim, he had to result in forced confession to the National Intelligence Services and the contents of the press conference show how ingenuine his ‘self-reflection’ is. The prosecution needs to investigate thoroughly to reveal the whole truth and enforce upon Song a strict law procedure.