Shin quizzed for ‘pro-NK' remarks
By Jung Min-ho
A Korean-American woman being investigated here for making "pro-North Korea" remarks during talk shows she co-hosted is likely to be deported to the United Sates this week.
Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office said Wednesday it planned to deport Shin Eun-mi, 54, as early as Friday. She allegedly promoted pro-North Korean ideals and defended its regime alongside her South Korean co-host Hwang Sun during forums from November to December last year.
Shin allegedly violated the National Security Law, which could ban her from entering South Korea for the next five years, according to the prosecution.
Shin underwent questioning Wednesday and denied the accusations and claimed she was a victim of "political bullying."
"Many media outlets painted me as a North Korea sympathizer by distorting facts," she told reporters. "They ruined my life and relationships. I was even attacked by a person."
Shin said all she did was encourage South Koreans to live peacefully with North Koreans after having felt brotherly affection toward North Korea when she visited there in 2011 and 2012.
"I don't believe I undermined the national security of South Korea," she said. "If I did, why did the government select my book as a recommended one in the first place? I just gave lectures and filmed a documentary based on the book."
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism selected her book, "Korean-American Ajumma Goes to North Korea," which was published in 2012, as a "recommended one" in 2013.
For now, she is temporarily banned from leaving South Korea during the investigation.
The probe came after local conservative civic groups filed a complaint against Shin and Hwang in November.
The prosecution is considering requesting an arrest warrant for Hwang on the same charges.
During their talk shows, where guests and the audience exchange views on a specific subject, the two women allegedly made remarks sympathetic toward North Korea and painted the regime in a positive light.
They also face defamation charges filed by associations of North Korean defectors. The associations said Hwang and Shin spread false information at the forums by claiming that the vast majority of defectors wished to move back to the North.
By Jung Min-ho
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| Shin Eun-mi |
Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office said Wednesday it planned to deport Shin Eun-mi, 54, as early as Friday. She allegedly promoted pro-North Korean ideals and defended its regime alongside her South Korean co-host Hwang Sun during forums from November to December last year.
Shin allegedly violated the National Security Law, which could ban her from entering South Korea for the next five years, according to the prosecution.
Shin underwent questioning Wednesday and denied the accusations and claimed she was a victim of "political bullying."
"Many media outlets painted me as a North Korea sympathizer by distorting facts," she told reporters. "They ruined my life and relationships. I was even attacked by a person."
Shin said all she did was encourage South Koreans to live peacefully with North Koreans after having felt brotherly affection toward North Korea when she visited there in 2011 and 2012.
"I don't believe I undermined the national security of South Korea," she said. "If I did, why did the government select my book as a recommended one in the first place? I just gave lectures and filmed a documentary based on the book."
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism selected her book, "Korean-American Ajumma Goes to North Korea," which was published in 2012, as a "recommended one" in 2013.
For now, she is temporarily banned from leaving South Korea during the investigation.
The probe came after local conservative civic groups filed a complaint against Shin and Hwang in November.
The prosecution is considering requesting an arrest warrant for Hwang on the same charges.
During their talk shows, where guests and the audience exchange views on a specific subject, the two women allegedly made remarks sympathetic toward North Korea and painted the regime in a positive light.
They also face defamation charges filed by associations of North Korean defectors. The associations said Hwang and Shin spread false information at the forums by claiming that the vast majority of defectors wished to move back to the North.
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