Civic group seeks to honor assassinated in-law of N. Korean leader

SEOUL, Feb. 25 (Yonhap) -- An anti-communist civic group in Seoul said Wednesday
that it plans to ask the South Korean government to formally recognize
meritorious service to the nation by an in-law of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il
who was assassinated after defecting to the South.
Lee Han-yeong, a nephew of Song Hye-rim, the deceased second wife of Kim,
defected to South Korea in 1982 at age of 21 after seeking asylum through the
South Korean embassy in Switzerland.
He was shot dead by North Korean agents at his home, south of Seoul, in 1997 amid
growing fears of retaliation by North Korea after another high-profile defector,
Hwan Jang-yeop, former secretary of the North's Korean Workers' Party, settled in
the South.
"Lee, as a member of Kim's 'royal' family, risked his life to come to the South
in 1982 and provided high-quality intelligence about the communist country," said
Doh Hee-yun, chairman of the Citizen's Coalition for Human Rights of Abductees
and North Korean Refugees. "He helped the South Korean government map out new
strategies towards North Korea amid rising inter-Korean tension."
Doh noted that his organization will soon file a petition with the Ministry of
Patriots & Veterans Affairs and relevant government agencies to designate Lee as
a "National Meritorious Person" in recognition of his contributions to the
national interest.
"Despite such enormous contributions by the late Lee, the South Korean government
failed to give proper protection to him. As the court has also acknowledged the
government's responsibility for his death, Lee should be named a National
Meritorious Person," Doh asserted.
He explained the National Meritorious Person designation will make way for the
relocation of Lee's tomb, now at a private cemetery south of Seoul, to one of the
national cemeteries.
Doh said he plans to contact ruling party lawmakers this week to discuss the
relevant petition procedures.
The Supreme Court upheld a lower court's ruling in August last year that the
South Korean government was obliged to protect the defector and ordered it to pay
compensation to the victim's family.
Lee published an essay a year before he was killed, describing the private lives
of the North's ruling family. He also held several media interviews in which he
described North Korea as a nation of idol worshippers, comments that were known
to seriously irritate Pyongyang.
brk@yna.co.kr
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