Ro Su hui

Political activity

Ro is the vice-chairman of the South Headquarters of the Pan-national Alliance for Korea's Reunification (Pomminryon). He was described by NBC News as "a leader of a South Korean group that has maintained friendly ties with North Korean groups".

Arrest and prosecution

Ro was arrested in July 2012 after he returned (via the Joint Security Area in Panmunjom) from an unauthorized visit to North Korea, where he called for the reunification of the two Koreas and bitterly criticised President Lee Myung-bak of South Korea for his hard-line North Korea policy. He had entered the North via China in March for a memorial service marking the 100th day since the death of long-time ruler Kim Jong-il. In February 2013, he was sentenced to four years in prison, and the Seoul Central District Court also ordered that his rights, such as suffrage, be stripped for three years after his release from prison.

The court ruling said "stern punishment is inevitable because [Ro] made a secret visit to North Korea without permission". Another activist, Won Jin-Wook, received a three-year prison sentence for communicating with North Korean officials to arrange Ro's trip.

The arrest of Ro was described by NK News as "a clear but unnecessary propaganda victory" for North Korea. An article in The Guardian mused: "The arrest made a very small splash in the western media, which comes as little surprise because a story with a warm North and a cold South is doesn't square easily with the message that has been delivered by media outlets in Europe and the US for the last two decades."

North Korea's state news agency said the "arrest has pushed the people in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea [North Korea] into fury" and described it as an abuse of human rights.