Lee Soo-geun was arrested on charges of double espionage..In the end, 54 days later, he was sentenced to death, "I can't even engrave my name on the tombstone." [Kkokkomu General Co., Ltd]

*This content was translated by AI.

Lee Soo-geun, who shook the Republic of Korea, shed light on the tragic incident of being driven from "Freedom Warrior" to "Double Spy" overnight.

The 212nd episode of SBS's "The Story of the Day with the Tail" (hereinafter referred to as "Kkokkomu") aired on the 19th highlighted the movie-like life of Lee Soo-geun, who defected to South Korea in search of freedom for the "Lee Soo-geun spy manipulation case" but was hanged for a double espionage charge. Actors Kim Sung-ryeong, Hwang Jae-yeol, and Lee Ju-an appeared as listeners and expressed their anger at the time.

The beginning of the incident was in March 1967, when the South and the North faced the Panmunjom Joint Security Area. On the day of the Military Armistice Commission meeting, news broke that a North Korean journalist had escaped. The person who got off the helicopter was Lee Soo-geun, vice president of the Korean Central News Agency and the highest-ranking North Korean journalist. Kim Il-sung's exodus from Panmunjom, a former journalist, became a massive event that shook Korean society.

The escape process unfolded like a movie. The moment the back door of the UN vehicle opened shortly after the conference ended, Lee Soo-geun threw himself. In a flashpoint just before the shooting, the vehicle drove through Panmunjom at 120 kilometers per hour, and 40 bullets were fired by the North Korean military. "Everyone wants freedom, but it wouldn't have been easy to have such courage," Kim Sung-ryeong said.

Lee Soo-geun was soon called the "Freedom Warrior" and was welcomed by the public. More than 100,000 people gathered in Seoul, and 1.3 million people participated in the signature campaign to bring the remaining family members to North Korea in two months. But a year after defection, things changed drastically. Lee Soo-geun appeared at the airport in disguise with a fake passport along with his nephew, Baek Ji-ok, and was arrested this time on charges of "double espionage." When it was revealed that even his escape from Panmunjom was a play in accordance with North Korea's orders, citizens' cheers turned into anger. There was even a burning ceremony to burn Lee Soo-geun's doll throughout the street. In March 1969, on the second anniversary of his defection, he was sentenced to death, and his sentence was executed in just 54 days. For a long time this was known as the closing of the case.

But by 1986, testimony had emerged that shook the verdict. A reversal occurred when reporter Cho Gap-je's report that "Lee Soo-geun is not a spy" came out. This is the first time questions have been raised about cases in which executions have already been carried out.

After his defection, Lee Soo-geun served as a so-called "anti-communist lecture one-stroke instructor." The problem was that the stronger the criticism of Kim Il-sung, the more dangerous the lives of the family members remaining in North Korea could be. This subtle attitude has raised doubts among intelligence agencies and has become a constant target of surveillance. Houses, vehicles, and phone calls were bugged, followed by assault and intimidation. Hwang Jae-yeol lamented, "Just hearing it makes me suffocate."

Eventually, Lee Soo-geun tried to defect to a neutral country, saying, "I came because I didn't like the north, but there was no freedom in the south," but was arrested in Vietnam. There was no freedom he wanted anywhere in the South or the North. The choice to leave the North Korean regime remained a deep trauma, and the perception that it was not accepted by South Korea led to another loss. Lee Ju-an said, "Didn't he want to live, too. The world is too much," he lamented.

Lee Soo-geun expressed his intention to appeal after being sentenced to death in the first trial, but the death penalty was confirmed without appeal. An intelligence officer stationed at the prison to monitor his movements. The Central Intelligence Agency had no choice but to define him as a spy to cover up the mistake of the person who was subject to inspection going abroad. It was revealed that Lee Soo-geun, who was severely tortured by the Central Intelligence Agency using electricity, water and clubs, made a false confession that he was a spy. Hwang Jae-yeol lamented, saying, "I'm sorry I suspected it was a spy."

In 2018, Lee Soo-geun was acquitted. It was 49 years after the execution. Kkokkomu helped him find his nephew, Baek Ji-ok, who had been released after serving a 20-year sentence, but he confirmed that he had already died of a heart attack and told him he was sick. Lee Soo-geun couldn't even leave his name on the tombstone. Their desperate lives were further heightened by the fact that bodies without connection were buried in a place where they were buried and in a space without even a gravestone.

Kim Sung-ryeong said, "There is bitterness, but there are still people who want to reveal the truth," adding, "The unfairness seems to be the most resentful in life." Finally, 3MCs Jang Hyun-sung, Jang Sung-kyu and Jang Do-yeon concluded, "I hope you remember the name Lee Soo-geun, who has not even left his name on the gravestone, as a human who wanted real freedom."

<© STARNEWS. All rights reserved. No reproduction or redistribution allowed.>

*This content was translated by AI.