Questioning links between N. Korean human rights and S. Korea’s first lady

The release of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich in August, after nearly 500 days of detention in Russia, stirred both envy and reflection. Gershkovich had been held in Moscow’s Lefortovo Detention Center, notorious for harsh treatment and torture, the same facility where a South Korean missionary, Mr. Baek, is also detained on similar charges.

In Gershkovich’s case, the U.S. invested over a year of intense, covert diplomatic efforts, even enlisting European allies to strengthen its bargaining position with Russia. Germany, for example, initially refused to release a convicted Russian assassin, despite Russian demands, but the U.S. ultimately persuaded them to cooperate. When four Americans finally returned home, U.S. President Joe Biden welcomed them personally at the airport.

Seeing their joyful reunion, thoughts turned to missionary Kim Jeong-wook, detained in North Korea since his capture in Pyongyang over 4,000 days ago. With little known about his current condition following his life sentence, the situation remains grim. We cautiously assume North Korea wouldn’t treat a South Korean prisoner recklessly, but nothing is certain. Kim is one of six South Koreans still held in North Korea, in a case exemplifying the broader North Korean human rights crisis.

The North Korean human rights issue goes beyond the torture and starvation faced by citizens in political prison camps. Organizations like the Database Center for North Korean Human Rights (NKDB) define “North Korean human rights” as including any abuses committed by or linked to North Korea, such as those affecting detainees, abductees, and South Korean prisoners of war. Yet, despite the Yoon Suk Yeol administration’s commitment to this cause, meaningful progress remains elusive.

The appointment process for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ North Korean Human Rights Ambassador has sparked controversy. Reports suggest that Lee Seo-hyun, daughter of Lee Jung-ho—a former high-ranking official in North Korea’s notorious Office 39, known as “Kim Jong Un’s money keeper”—was the sole nominee for the role, drawing backlash from North Korean defector groups. Critics contend that it is inappropriate for someone whose family benefited from privileges under the North Korean regime, and who later sought asylum in the U.S., to represent South Korea as its Human Rights Ambassador. Lee Seo-hyun’s role in coordinating First Lady Kim Keon Hee’s U.S. schedule has further fueled speculation of “First Lady’s line” backing, as experienced North Korean human rights experts are reportedly passed over in favor of a young defector in their early 30s.