[Contribution] Missionary's son moved UN. Now North Korea must release South Korean detainees

Korea Herald

31-03-2025

By Won Jae-chun, professor of International Law and Director of International Law, Handong Global University
Behind every international decision lies a story of struggle, faith and solidarity. The recent opinion by the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD), declaring the imprisonment of South Korean missionaries Kim Jung-wook, Kim Kook-kie and Choi Chun-gil as arbitrary detention, is not just a legal milestone — it is a testament to the power of collaboration between victims, government, civil society and the international community.
Families' cry that stirred the world
At the heart of this campaign stands Choi Jin-young, son of Missionary Choi Chun-gil. Driven by a quiet yet relentless determination, the younger Choi traveled across continents to personally present his father's case to key international stakeholders. His meeting with EU Special Representative for Human Rights, Olof Skoog, was more than diplomatic— it was deeply personal. Through his words, the suffering of families long silenced came alive in the halls of Brussels and Geneva.
This was not a solo effort. The wife of Kim Kook-kie and the son of Kim Jung-wook each wrote heartfelt letters to their loved ones and delivered them to international representatives. These deeply moving testimonies, paired with the legal precision of NGO documentation and academic support, formed a compelling case that ultimately led to WGAD's official opinion.
Unified effort for justice
South Korea's Ministry of Unification played a pivotal role in supporting and coordinating efforts through its dedicated taskforce on abductions. In its March 14 statement, the Ministry welcomed the WGAD's findings, reaffirming that the North's detention of the three missionaries 'is a clear violation of international law' and urged 'immediate and unconditional release' of its citizens. The government reiterated its commitment to working with allies including the US, UK and key international religious and humanitarian groups.
This multilateral effort was echoed by global civil society. In Germany, Gerda Ehrlich, who grew up in East Germany under communist rule, led weekly vigils and prayer gatherings outside the North Korean Embassy in Berlin. Her lived experience gave moral clarity to the fight — she recognized in North Korea's totalitarian tactics the very repression her generation once endured. Her advocacy reminded Europe that freedom of belief, conscience and dignity must be defended globally.
Academics and legal scholars lent expertise to ground the campaign in international law. Their work ensured that the submission to the UN Working Group met procedural rigor while highlighting the broader human rights crisis facing North Korean detainees.
The media played a crucial role by amplifying the victims' stories and providing sustained coverage of the campaign. Their reporting transformed an issue once confined to diplomatic backchannels into a matter of global public concern.
UN has spoken — now world must act
The WGAD opinion was clear: the three men were arrested without legal basis, tortured into confessions, denied legal representation and sentenced in sham trials. Their continued imprisonment violates multiple articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The UN demands their immediate release, compensation, independent investigation and accountability for the violations.
It is now time for countries that maintain diplomatic relations with North Korea — like Sweden — to go further. We call on them to exercise their unique positions to seek consular access, monitor the conditions of the detainees and push for the implementation of WGAD's recommendations.
Beyond this case lies a wider injustice. Over 100,000 South Koreans remain unaccounted for since the Korean War — wartime abductees, unreturned POWs, postwar fishers and ethnic Koreans repatriated from Japan. Many of them, and their families, continue to suffer silently under discrimination or separation. The WGAD's bold opinion must serve as a precedent to address all cases of abduction and arbitrary detention.
The voices of the families — united in love, grief and courage — reached the conscience of the United Nations. Now it is the world's turn to respond. This cannot end with a statement. It must end with a reunion. Let global solidarity continue until the doors of arbitrary detention are opened, and these families are made whole again.
Let justice not end with an opinion. Let it lead to action!
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Won Jae-chun serves as a member of the 12-member, one-year term North Korean Human Rights Promotion Committee from March 2025 to March 2026, an advisory body to Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho. The views expressed in this article are his own. -- Ed.