Pro-NK group head in Japan sues to get S. Korean passport

The head of a pro-North Korea group in Japan is suing the South Korean foreign minister after his application for the reissuance of his South Korean passport was rejected, said the Seoul Administrative Court on Friday.

Sohn Hyeong-geun, chairman of the Association for the Democratic Unification of Korea in Japan, is a Korean Japanese who gained South Korean citizenship after being born in Osaka in November 1951. The association is a pro-North Korea group pushing for Korean reunification under a federal system.

In June 1978, the South Korean Supreme Court ruled that the association was an “anti-state group.” The organization changed its name in 1989, but the court also gave it the same designation in September 1990.

It is unclear whether Sohn’s application for his passport`s reissuance was rejected because he leads an anti-state group. In the lawsuit, he said it was illegal for Seoul to reject his passport application without informing him of the reason, adding there is no reason for him to be denied the passport.

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