Two current and former officials of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) have been acquitted in their first trial, having been indicted without detention on charges of meeting with North Korean agents in China and receiving instructions.

Suwon District Court and Suwon High Court building. [Yonhap News]

The Criminal Division 12 of the Suwon District Court (Presiding Judge Park Geon-chang) on the 21st acquitted Mr. A, a KCTU Gyeonggi Central Branch official, and Mr. B, a former official of the National Democratic Union of Workers, who were indicted on charges including violations of the National Security Act (special infiltration and escape, assembly).

Previously, the prosecution had requested prison sentences of 7 years and 8 years for them, respectively, in the final public hearing.

The court ruled, "While there is room to consider the defendants' actions as infiltration and escape, given the circumstances of their departure from China, and the location and time they met with North Korean agents, it is difficult to conclude that the charges have been proven beyond a reasonable doubt."

It further explained the reasons for acquittal, stating, "Although the defendants were mentioned in a report from the North Korean side, it was not confirmed that they actually performed the roles corresponding to those mentions, and the content of those roles was also beyond the defendants' authority," adding, "It cannot be seen that the defendants committed the crime with a specific role."

Regarding Mr. B's possession of pro-North Korean publications, the court also ruled, "It is difficult to conclude that he possessed them with the intent to commit acts of espionage, considering the state of their management, the circumstances of their possession, his usual activities, and his criminal record."

Immediately after the court's acquittal ruling on this day, KCTU officials present in the public gallery erupted in applause and cheers.

Mr. A and others were indicted in January of last year on charges of traveling to Guangzhou, China, in September 2018 with Mr. Seok, former head of the KCTU's Organizational Dispute Resolution Department, to meet with North Korean agents and receiving instructions before returning to Korea.

Previously, the judiciary had confirmed a prison sentence for Mr. Seok, who was prosecuted first on the same charges.

Mr. Seok, who was actually arrested and indicted in May 2023, ahead of them, was sentenced to 15 years in prison and 15 years of disqualification in the first trial, but his sentence was reduced to 9 years and 6 months in prison and 9 years and 6 months of disqualification in the appellate trial. Subsequently, in September of last year, the Supreme Court dismissed the appeals filed by both sides, and the appellate ruling for Mr. Seok was finalized as it was.