Report on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances VII. Summary Session: 131 INFORMATION FROM SOURCE Date: 23-Jul-2023 According to the information received: Mr. Woo Yeong-Gil (우 영길), a border patrol soldier, born in 1963 in Pyongyang and residing in Muchang-ri, Kimhyongjik County, Ryanggang Province (량강도 김형직군무창리) was allegedly arbitrarily detained on 19 November 1990 by the DPRK State agents. It is reported that on the day of his disappearance, Mr. Woo was working as a border patrol soldier and he was stationed in Goeup District, Kimhyŏngjik County, Ryanggang Province. Allegedly, he was arrested by the State Security Department of the DPRK military (국가안전보위부, renamed in 2016 as Ministry of State Security 국가안전보위성) as he attempted to meet his Chinese counterpart by the border. Mr. Woo was believed to be involved in the selling of wild ginseng. His family were reportedly informed about his detention in a note from the border patrol where he was stationed. The note allegedly added that a preliminary investigation into his case was underway, with the probability that he would be pardoned and released. In the summer of 1991, it is reported that Mr. Woo’s family received a letter from Mr. Woo Yeong-Gil himself, delivered by a state-level state security agent. The family allegedly sent a petition letter to then-North Korean President Kim Il Sung. A purported delegate of the President from the Petition Processing Department of the DPRK reportedly visited the family in return, assuring them that Mr. Woo Yeong-Gil would be released in 10 years’ time. However, the family was later informed by a province-level state security official in Hyesan city, that the final verdict of the State Security Department was a sentence of 20 years on charges of espionage and transferred to a political prison camp. Mr. Woo’s charges were reportedly levelled against him as the person receiving the wild ginseng was an alleged member of the South Korean National Intelligence Service. Around 1997 – 1998, relatives to Mr. Woo were reportedly informed by an acquaintance of Mr. Woo that he might be detained in the Susong political prison camp (kwanliso) No. 25. Mr. Woo’s health condition deteriorated significantly since his detention, including a bent spine caused by hard labour. Around 2002, a person connected to Mr. Woo reportedly also informed the family that he was being detained in the same prison camp. Moreover, it is believed that Mr. Woo could have been reinstated as military service personnel while in detention. However, the authorities at the Susong political prison camp (kwanliso) No. 25 have so far refused to provide information about his release to his family. According to witness testimonies, released prisoners are made to produce bicycles and accordions at the political prison camp. At the time of the present communication, the fate and whereabouts of Mr. Woo Yeong-Gil remain unknown. 6