In a landmark ruling, a South Korean appeals court has acquitted a North Korean defector accused of illegally sending money to relatives in North Korea, overturning a lower court's verdict in a case that highlights the legal complexities surrounding humanitarian remittances. The defendant, a woman in her 50s, had been indicted in 2023 on charges of violating the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act.
Lawyer Lee Hee-suk, representing the defendant, told AFP that the court recognized the humanitarian nature of the transfers, which were intended to assist defectors without any profit motive. The ruling comes as about 34,000 North Korean defectors live in South Korea, many of whom are believed to maintain contact with relatives in the North and send them money.
However, there is no clear legal channel for such transfers due to the absence of banking ties between the two Koreas, who remain technically at war as their 1950-53 conflict ended without a peace treaty. Defectors typically rely on informal broker networks operating through China, with funds passing through multiple bank accounts before reaching recipients in the isolated North.
The complex process of wiring funds into North Korea can cost as much as half of the original remittance in brokerage fees, according to the public interest foundation Dongcheon, established by law firm BKL, which represented the defendant pro bono. South Korean authorities had previously taken a lenient approach toward humanitarian remittances by defectors, provided the funds were not intended to support the North Korean regime.
However, under former President Yoon Suk Yeol's administration, authorities launched nationwide investigations in 2023, leading to about 10 defectors being prosecuted under the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act, according to Dongcheon and local news reports. About half of those prosecuted accepted fines without appealing. The defendant had received a suspended one million won ($670) fine before the appeals court acquitted her on Tuesday.
