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Woo Yong Gak

 

 
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Woo Yong Gak (1929? - ) is a North Korea
North Korea

North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea , is a state in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula....
n former commando
Commando

In military science, the term commando denotes an individual soldier, a military unit, and a raid . Contemporarily, commando identifies ?lite light infantry and special forces units specialised in parachuting, rappelling, and amphibious warfare to conduct and effect attacks....
 who was released from incarceration in South Korea
South Korea

South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea , ), often referred to as Korea and the "names of Korea#Revival of the names", is a Semi-presidential system republic in East Asia, located in the southern half of the Korean Peninsula....
 on 25 February 1999.

He served 40 years, 7 months and 13 days in prison
Prison

A prison, penitentiary, or correctional facility is a place in which individuals are physically confined or internment and usually deprived of a range of personal Freedom ....
. It has also been said that he "spent 41 years in solitary confinement
Solitary confinement

Solitary confinement, colloquially referred to in American English as "the hole", lockdown, M2030D, "the SHU" or "the pound" , is a punishment or special form of imprisonment in which a prisoner is denied contact with any other persons, excluding members of prison staff....
". He was returned to his country of origin in September 2000.

as captured during a North Korean commando raid in South Korean waters in 1958 in which he participated as one of the raiders.

being convicted of the crime of conducting espionage
Espionage

Espionage or spying involves an individual obtaining information that is considered secrecy or confidential without the permission of the holder of the information....
 for North Korea, he was sentenced to life imprisonment
Life imprisonment

Life imprisonment or life incarceration is a sentence of prison for a serious crime, often for most or even all of the criminal's remaining life, but in fact for a period which varies between jurisdictions: many countries have a maximum possible period of time a prisoner may be incarcerated, or require the possibility of parole after...
.






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Encyclopedia


Woo Yong Gak (1929? - ) is a North Korea
North Korea

North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea , is a state in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula....
n former commando
Commando

In military science, the term commando denotes an individual soldier, a military unit, and a raid . Contemporarily, commando identifies ?lite light infantry and special forces units specialised in parachuting, rappelling, and amphibious warfare to conduct and effect attacks....
 who was released from incarceration in South Korea
South Korea

South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea , ), often referred to as Korea and the "names of Korea#Revival of the names", is a Semi-presidential system republic in East Asia, located in the southern half of the Korean Peninsula....
 on 25 February 1999.

He served 40 years, 7 months and 13 days in prison
Prison

A prison, penitentiary, or correctional facility is a place in which individuals are physically confined or internment and usually deprived of a range of personal Freedom ....
. It has also been said that he "spent 41 years in solitary confinement
Solitary confinement

Solitary confinement, colloquially referred to in American English as "the hole", lockdown, M2030D, "the SHU" or "the pound" , is a punishment or special form of imprisonment in which a prisoner is denied contact with any other persons, excluding members of prison staff....
". He was returned to his country of origin in September 2000.

Capture

He was captured during a North Korean commando raid in South Korean waters in 1958 in which he participated as one of the raiders.

Imprisonment


Purpose

Upon being convicted of the crime of conducting espionage
Espionage

Espionage or spying involves an individual obtaining information that is considered secrecy or confidential without the permission of the holder of the information....
 for North Korea, he was sentenced to life imprisonment
Life imprisonment

Life imprisonment or life incarceration is a sentence of prison for a serious crime, often for most or even all of the criminal's remaining life, but in fact for a period which varies between jurisdictions: many countries have a maximum possible period of time a prisoner may be incarcerated, or require the possibility of parole after...
. South Korea claimed that he had been leading a group of spies. Throughout his imprisonment he refused to sign an oath
Oath

An oath is either a promise or a statement of fact calling upon something or someone that the oath maker considers sacred, usually God, as a witness to the binding nature of the promise or the truth of the statement of fact....
 of obedience to South Korea's National Security Law
National Security Act (South Korea)

The National Security Law is a South Korean law which has the avowed purpose "to restrict anti-state acts that endanger national security and to protect [the] nation's safety and its people's life and freedom."...
, which bans the display or expression of any pro-North Korean sentiment.

Torture allegation

A report by Amnesty International
Amnesty International

Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organization which defines its mission as "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated." Founded in London, England in 1961, AI draws its attention to human rights abuses and...
 records his claim to have been torture
Torture

Torture, according to the United Nations Convention Against Torture, is:In addition to state-sponsored torture, individuals or groups may be motivated to inflict torture on others for similar reasons to those of a state; however, the motive for torture can also be for the sadism gratification of the torturer, as was the case in the Moors M...
d in an underground facility after his arrest
Arrest

An arrest is the act of depriving a person of his or her liberty usually in relation to the investigation and prevention of crime. The term is Anglo-Norman language in origin and is related to the French word arr?t, meaning "stop"....
 and forced to make a confession
Confession (legal)

In the evidence , a confession is a statement by a suspect in crime which is adverse to that person....
.

Solitary confinement

South Korean law
South Korean law

The legal system of South Korea is a Civil law system that has its basis in the Constitution of the Republic of Korea....
 specifies solitary confinement for spies, even if they pose no physical threat. He was held in solitary confinement in a 12-by-12 foot cell since his capture aboard a North Korean boat off South Korea's east coast. The terms of his imprisonment permitted him half an hour of daily exercise with other prisoners. In 1998 he was said to be "missing all his teeth because of years of torture, poor food, and inadequate medical treatment". In 1999, still prior to his release, he was reported to be suffering from a degree of muscular paralysis
Paralysis

Paralysis is the complete loss of muscle function for one or more muscle groups. Paralysis can cause loss of feeling or loss of mobility in the affected area....
 resulting from a stroke
Stroke

A stroke is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to a disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. According to the National Stroke Association, a "stroke" occurs when a blood clot blocks and artery or a blood vessel breaks, interrupting blood flow to an area of the brain....


Release and repatriation

He was among 17 long-term detainees released under a wider amnesty
Amnesty

Amnesty is a legislative or executive act by which a state restores those who may have been guilty of an offense against it to the positions of innocent persons....
 to mark President Kim Dae-jung
Kim Dae Jung

Kim Dae-jung is a former South Korean President of South Korea and the 2000 Nobel Peace Prize recipient. He is the first and only Nobel laureate from Korea....
's first year in office. As a 70 year old man, he walked free from the gates of Daejeon
Daejeon

Daejeon is the capital city of Chungcheongnamdo Province, located in the center of South Korea. It is the fifth largest city in South Korea, with a population of 1,442,856 at the end of 2005....
 prison. It was proposed that he may be allowed to return to North Korea, where he had a wife and son, in exchange for South Korean prisoners of war. He was returned there, though not in exchange for any imprisoned South Koreans, in early September 2000.

See also

Prisoners of conscience

External links

  • BBC News report of 25 February 1999, including face image