Evangelical pastor under probe for unauthorized funds to N.K.

SEOUL, Oct. 20 (Yonhap) -- An evangelical pastor is under investigation for providing tens of thousands of dollars to North Korea without permission from Seoul while visiting the country last week, officials said Monday.

The pastor, identified only by his family name Jin, crossed the border into North
Korea Thursday carrying US$50,000 without permission from the authorities and in
violation of Seoul's ban on the illegal transfer of foreign currency out of the
country.
The money was given to North Korean organizers of a joint prayer meeting for
inter-Korean peace and reunification whom the pastor met in Kaesong to discuss
preparations for the event, Kim Ho-nyoun, spokesman for the Unification Ministry
handling inter-Korean affairs, told reporters.
Under South Korean law, individuals must report to customs authorities when
traveling abroad with $10,000 or more, or face up to two years of imprisonment or
maximum 100 million ($76,132) in fines.
Customs officials say the pastor disregarded their orders to halt and ran before
inspectors could inspect his belongings. "So we waited till the pastor returned
to hand him over to the security authorities," an official said, requesting
anonymity.
The pastor, however, claims he was not aware of the rule on carrying currency out
of the country and hurriedly left the customs office simply in order not to miss
a bus where his companions were waiting.
A group of South Korean evangelical churches and North Korea's Christian
Federation are set to hold the joint prayer at Pyongyang's Bongsu Church on Nov.
18-20. The pastor said the money was meant to help cover the cost for the event.
sshim@yna.co.kr
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