Current, former KCTU officials indicted for alleged ties with N. Korean agent

January 31, 2025

Prosecutors on Friday indicted a current and former official of a major umbrella union for allegedly receiving orders from a North Korean agent they met in China in 2018.

The Suwon District Prosecutors Office said it indicted the two individuals, associated with the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), without detention on charges of violating the National Security Act.

The two are accused of traveling to Guangzhou, China, in September 2018 to meet the agent with another former KCTU official, identified by the surname Seok. The two officials allegedly conducted activities under the agent’s orders after returning to South Korea.

The prosecution said it confirmed their activities through an investigation after receiving the case from the National Intelligence Service (NIS).

It said it has also acquired 90 documents of North Korea’s orders and 24 reports for North Korea in connection to the case by cooperating with the NIS and the police.

Last November, Seok was sentenced to 15 years in prison for conducting espionage activities under instructions from North Korea from 2017 to 2022.