North Korea’s Spies Also in the Progressive Party and Teachers’ Union in South Korea

2023-5-24, Munhwa Ibo [TRANSLATION]

Above: KTU members block the police and National Intelligence Service (NIS) search & seizure of KTU office in Chuncheon City, Gangwon Province, 2023-5-23, Yonhap News

Mr. A, Progressive Party (Jinbo-dang) Co-Chairman:

• To North Korea:  “I am…a faithful warrior of the General Chairman [Kim Jong Un].” (2022-10-26)
• North Korea’s orders:  “Make it your objective to stir up the second ‘candlelight people’s great struggle’ demanding the resignation of traitorous jerk Yoon Suk-yeol.” (2022-11-3)

Mr. B, Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union (KTU):

• North Korea’s orders:  “Put your energy into the operations to enter into the leadership of the regional KTU to expand the capacity of the related organizations” (2022-11-3)

It was revealed that Mr. A, a former co-chairman of the Progressive Party, and Mr. B, the former chairman of the Gangwon Province branch of the Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union (KTU) (Jeongyojo), have been executing North Korea’s anti-South Korea orders for the past decade.  They have built a “nationwide underground organizational network” and sent loyalty letters “I’ll be General Chairman’s (Kim Jong-un) faithful warrior” to North Korea.  Both of them are members of Jeongukhoe (전국회) (“nationwide committee” or “national congress”), which falls under Jaju Tongil Minjung Jeonwi (JaTong) (People’s Front for Independent Unification), also referred to as the “Changwon Spy Ring” (창원 간첩단).

[Note:  The Progressive Party (Jinbo-dang) descended from the banned Unified Progressive Party (Tonghap Jinbo-dang), which descended from the Democratic Labor Party (Minju Nodong-dang).]

According to data obtained by the Munhwa Ilbo on 24 May 2023 from counterintelligence agencies and others, on 19 October last year [2022], North Korea issued a directive to Mr. A to “Prioritize instilling deep admiration for the General Chairman [Kim Jong-un] among the members of the board of directors (of JaTong),” and to “organize a large number of illegal groups and increase their core ranks, especially among the Progressive Party, the labor unions categorized by industries under the Korea Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) (Minju NoChong or MinNoChong), and youth and student organizations.” Accordingly, one week later on 26 October [2022], Mr. A [of the Progressive Party] sent a report to North Korea, “It is a great honor to be selected as a board member, and I am full of enthusiasm to be a faithful warrior of the General Chairman [Kim Jong-un].”

In addition, on November 3, 2022, the Cultural Exchange Bureau, North Korea’s anti-South Korea department, issued orders to Mr. A and Mr. B to “make it your objective to stir up the second ‘candlelight people’s grand struggle’ (촛불국민대항쟁) demanding the resignation of the traitorous jerk Yoon Suk-yeol.” North Korea instructed, “The Board of Directors should actively incite the young companies (sub-networks of regional organizations) and the Jeongukhoi to expand the project of candlelight demonstrations” and “through the regional branches of Jeongukhoi, broaden the scope of the anti-Yoon Suk-yeol struggle capacity by enlisting not only the progressive and mass movement groups, but also anti-conservative militant groups to actively participate in the candlelight action for the removal of Yoon Suk-yeol and the traitorous defeated party [People Power Party].”

In fact, after North Korea’s directive, Mr. A, who was in charge of the Seoul area, took over the central operations of the Progressive Party. In its directives issued on 14 June and 3 November last year (2022), respectively, North Korea urged Mr. A to run for co-chairman of the Progressive Party and Mr. B to run for chairman of the Gangwon branch of the KTU; both of them were elected in July and December last year, respectively. In the case of Mr. B, it was revealed that he provided to North Korea the personnel list of the Gangwon Province branch of the KTU, as well as the list of candidate members of the courier union (택배노조) and Jeongukhoi.

On 23 March 2023, counterintelligence authorities conducted a search and seizure of [the offices and residences related to] the two executives of the Jeongukhoi, whom North Korea referred to as “President A” and “President B” in the “Board of Directors,” on suspicion of violating the National Security Law. In addition, these organizations, through the JaTong board of directors, its sub-companies, Jeongukhoi, and others, have infiltrated the mass scene of the KTU, the KCTU, the Progressive Party, as well as workers, farmers, students, and political parties, and have expanded into a huge network of underground organizations nationwide.  Detecting this situation, the number of subjects of investigation is growing.

Source:  https://www.munhwa.com/news/view.html?no=2023052401070630114001