Pilot under probe for pro-NK activities

The Korea Times

The Korea Times

National

Tue, September 26, 2023 | 20:41

Pilot under probe for pro-NK activities

'민항기 몰고 북한 갈뻔?' 승객들 아찔

Posted : 2011-10-19 09:52

Updated : 2011-10-19 09:52

About 40 people, including public officials and soldiers, are under police investigation on suspicion of producing or circulating pro-North Korean materials on the Internet in breach of the National Security Law, police said Wednesday.

The people under probe are suspected of making or posting materials that extol or propagandize the virtues of the communist country on an extremist pro-North website or their personal Internet homepages, the National Police Agency said.

The suspects include a local pilot with leading airline Korean Air, who is accused of uploading pro-North Korean materials on his own website disguised as a regular scientific research site.

The 44-year-old plane captain surnamed Kim posted about 60 articles or video clips that sympathize with the communist regime on his website, the police said. He was also a member of the extremist pro-North Web community, whose operations are now being suspended.

Kim has been barred from leaving the country following the launch of the investigation. His airline, after being notified of the probe, suspended him from flying on fear that he would fly northward to defect to the communist country, the police noted.

Kim's posting of pro-North content, some of which was produced in the North, goes against the anti-North Korea law that prohibits issuing or possessing such materials, the police also noted.

Police said they searched Kim's home on Tuesday and confiscated around 10 North Korean books and his computer, which had pro-North materials on it. After examining them, police said they plan to call him in for interrogation.

"A further probe will be focused on discovering whether he led active pro-North activities, including personal contact with (pro-North campaign) related people offline," a police official said.

The police agency also said a first lieutenant from the Korean Air Force and several government employees were also included in the group of suspects, alongside a lawyer and a private tutor.

The latest police actions come amid the country's intensifying efforts to step up crackdowns on pro-North Korean activities in cyberspace, which officials worry have mushroomed to a risky level.

Police apprehended a total of 358 perpetrators of anti-state crimes in the past four years, 119 of whom committed pro-North activities in cyberspace, according to the police.

The country regulates Internet content that extols or propagandizes the North Korean leader or the political system of North Korea, which is by law defined as a national enemy since the 1950-53 Korean War ended in an armistice rather than a peace treaty. (Yonhap)

'민항기 몰고 북한 갈뻔?' 승객들 아찔
사이버민족방위사령부 회원…출국ㆍ운항 금지 국내 민간 항공사의 현직 기장이 개인 홈페이지에 북한을 찬양하는 글을 다수 올리다 적발돼 경찰의 수사를 받고 있다. 경찰청은 "인터넷상에 개인 과학 사이트를 만들어 놓고 이곳에 북한을 찬양하는 글을 60여 건 올린 혐의(국가보안법 위반)로 국내 민간 항공사의 기장 김모(44)씨를 수사하고 있다"고 19일 밝혔다. 김씨는 '위대한 영도자 김정일 동지' 등 북한을 찬양하는 문건과 북한에서 제작된 동영상 등 60여건을 해당 사이트에 올린 혐의를 받고 있으며 이는 국가보안법상 찬양•고무 규정에 저촉된다고 경찰은 설명했다. 경찰은 18일 김씨의 집을 압수수색해 북한 서적 10여권과 이적 표현물이 담긴 컴퓨터 등을 가져와 분석 작업을 진행한 뒤 이씨를 소환 조사할 계획이다. 당국은 김씨가 도주할 우려가 있다고 보고 출국 금지 조치를 취했으며 수사 사실을 통보받은 해당 민항사는 극단적인 경우 승객을 태우고 월북할 가능성도 있다고 보고 운항금지 조치를 취했다. 김씨는 종북 사이트인 '사이버 민족방위사령부'의 회원이기도 하지만 적극적인 활동을 하지는 않은 것으로 전해졌다. 경찰청 관계자는 "오프라인상에서 관련 인사를 만나는 등 적극적인 종북 활동을 했는지 여부 등을 추가 수사를 통해 밝혀야 할 부분"이라고 설명했다. (연합)

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