S. Korea Punishes Publisher for Attending Kim Funeral

SEOUL —  To punish him for visiting Pyongyang to express condolences on the death of North Korean leader Kim Il Sung, the South Korean government Monday revoked the license of Bo Hi Pak to serve as publisher of the Seoul-based Segye Times newspaper and six magazines.

It was the first time a South Korean government has ordered a publisher ousted for political reasons since former President Roh Tae Woo pledged to end authoritarian rule in 1987.

Prosecutors earlier said they would charge Pak with violating South Korea’s National Security Law for expressing condolences and for attending Kim’s funeral last Tuesday.

Pak, who also serves as chairman of the Washington Times Co. and is a leading figure in the Rev. Sun Myung Moon’s Unification Church, left Beijing on Sunday to fly to the United States after visiting North Korea for 11 days.

If the Unification Church-owned publications fail to replace Pak, each could be suspended from publishing for three months, a spokesman for the Information Ministry said.

The Segye Times reported earlier that Pak had gone to Pyongyang for an exclusive interview with Kim Jong Il, 52, son of the late dictator and North Korea’s new leader. Pak met Kim on Wednesday but so far has written no story for the Segye Times.

A Segye Times editor said in a telephone interview that “we editors cannot comment. The board of directors will have to decide what to do.” The editor also refused to say if Pak eventually would return to Seoul, from where he departed to visit North Korea via Beijing.

Korean prosecutors cited North Korean television footage that showed Pak bowing in front of Kim Il Sung’s casket to prove Pak paid homage to the North Korean leader who launched the 1950-53 Korean War.

The North Korean Central News Agency reported that Pak paid respects to Kim’s coffin, presented a wreath, attended the funeral and a memorial ceremony and expressed condolences to Kim Jong Il. It quoted Pak as insisting that his visit was “completely humanitarian--not political.”

The Information Ministry said Pak’s unauthorized trip to the North led them to reinspect documents that the Segye Times had submitted for a license to publish and ruled that Pak’s South Korean residence registration was no longer valid.

Under Korean law, publishers must be Korean citizens residing in the country. Although Pak’s residence in the United States was widely known at application time, ministry officials did not question the documents originally, a spokesman said.

“Since the government is punishing dissidents and student activists who expressed condolences over Kim Il Sung’s death, certainly, Pak cannot be an exception,” said Park Bom Jin, spokesman of the ruling Democratic Liberal Party.