Spy-framed ethnic Koreans seek restoration of visa

Suh Sung, center, an ethnic Korean from Japan and prisoner of conscience who was arrested for allegedly spying for North Korea, smiles after he was released from prison after 19 years of incarceration in this Feb. 28, 1990 file photo. To his right is younger brother Suh Joon-sik who also spent 17 years in prison on similar charges. Many Koreans who were jailed on spying charges and later acquitted have experienced difficulties in living ordinary lives, especially those having a special residence visa in Japan. / Korea Times file

By Park Ji-won

Suh Sung, a second-generation ethnic Korean in Japan and then a Seoul National University student in 1971, was arrested by what is now the former Defense Security Command on allegations of spying for North Korea after he visited the North for research purposes. He was tortured and sentenced to life in prison.

His brother Suh Joon-sik, who also studied at Seoul National University, was also arrested on similar charges and treated brutally. Suh Sung tried to kill himself by setting himself on fire while being tortured. He was granted amnesty and left prison after 19 years of incarceration. His brother was also freed after spending 17 years in jail. These were not the only cases

There are more than a few ethnic Korean residents like them, who suffered from unjust prison sentences after being framed on charges of espionage during the dictatorial regimes of the past. Many of them were kept behind bars for up to 20 years, while some were sentenced to death.

A Nov. 23, 1975, newspaper clip from The Korea Times describes the government arresting 'North Korean spies,' which included ethnic Korean students from Japan. / Korea Times file

Victimization under military regimes

During the military regimes of former President Park Chung-hee and Chun Doo-hwan, the government used such students to create anti-North propaganda in the South which helped them stay in power. They used the issue as leverage to win over other democratic candidates such as Kim Dae-jung. Many ethnic Koreans, who moved to South Korea from Japan to study at universities such as Seoul National and Korea, were branded as spies and accused of violating National Security Act.

They were arrested without being informed why and tortured while in illegal custody into making false confessions. This evidence played a key role in their exoneration in retrials in 2010, but even after they were freed, they didn't have their honor restored.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission in 2005, established during the late President Roh Moo-hyun administration, revealed the atrocities conducted by the South's past authoritarian governments and called for the retrials.

In the beginning, the victims were negative about the government's activities and didn't start looking into the facts or file a lawsuit against it as they didn't trust the administration. But this changed when Lee Jong-su, one of the victims and a former student at Korea University, won a retrial with the assistance of the commission and was acquitted on all charges. After Lee, many other victims followed suit. However, many more had changed their names and disappeared from society. Some of them still suffer from mental and physical illnesses.

So far, 32 ethnic Koreans have been exonerated after wrongful convictions in the 70s and 80s through retrials while eight are still awaiting the results. There are at least 319 confirmed similar cases according to data from a fact-finding committee of the Ministry of National Defense.

Deprivation of permanent residence status

Not only did they spend time in prison, but they also saw their rights disappear into thin air.

In the past, ethnic Koreans from Japan with South Korean passports or who were stateless were given special visas as the result of a 1965 treaty on basic relations between Japan and the Republic of Korea. The two countries acknowledged their difficult circumstances so they could stay in Japan with Korean nationality based on the historical background of Japan's colonial rule of Korea. Many of the ethnic Koreans are the offspring of Koreans who were forced to go to Japan during the colonial period. Because of this, they didn't have to renew their visas regularly which is required of ordinary foreigners in Japan.

If the ethnic Korean students had not been arrested, they would have the rightful visas to live in Japan. But after they were unlawfully imprisoned here, they couldn't meet the qualification guidelines to stay as special permanent residents of Japan. If people with the special permanent residence visa stay away from Japan for more than two years, the visa expires.

Needless to say, the 32 ethnic Koreans who have filed the lawsuits couldn't renew their residence visas for Japan as they were in prison here. As they only had ordinary residence visas, they needed to renew them every three years, which they wouldn't have to if they had special visas. This means they also have difficulty in finding jobs because of the short-term visa they have presently. And their children cannot have the special resident visas, as it is inherited from their parents, who no longer have one.

Those victims have sent letters to President Moon Jae-in and lawmakers asking for the restoration of their special residence visas by getting Japan to pass a bill recognizing their rights, something some Japanese lawmakers are against.

“We are already in our twilight years, but decided to act on the incidents, which we have tried to forget. We have been overcoming difficulties by working ourselves for acquittals. We were able to win acquittals but failed to regain the special residence visas. I think having the special visas is our right,” wrote six of the 32 in June, asking for the restoration of their honor as prisoners of conscience. They are seeking to win back their residence visas and other rights that were taken away due to the illegal acts of the dictatorial governments.

“We beg the President to ask the Japanese government to pass a related bill in Japan to restore the right for a special residence visas for people like us.”

“Through a retrial, I regained my honor in Korea, but still not my rights in Japan. I can say I regained my honor through the restoration of the rights,” wrote Yoon Jong-hon, one of the victims, in a letter to Rep. Kang Chang-Il of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea.

Kim Jong-sa, right, and Yoo Song-sam, who were framed by South Korea's military regimes on charges of being North Korean spies, speak after they were acquitted by Seocho High Court, in this file photo Sept. 23, 2011, 34 years after they were sentenced to long jail terms. / Yonhap

South Korean lawmakers are pushing for their Japanese counterparts to pass a bill to give the ethnic Koreans from Japan permanent residence visas in Japan. But it is hard to get momentum as they won't have the right to vote in Japan, which means they are considered insignificant in domestic politics for Japanese politicians.

“We are working with Japanese lawmakers to urge them to pass the bill to restore those Koreans their special visas. However, it needs more public awareness,” Rep. Kang Chang-il said.

Liberty Korea Party Rep. Lee Che-ik also went to Japan in the beginning of August to urge Japanese lawmakers to work for those Korean victims to get their visas back based on humanitarian principles.

“As the South Korea government took away our rights, it is the current administration's obligation to restore them,” Yoon said.