Hero pastor jailed for sexually abusing North Korea teenage escapees
South Korean pastor, once celebrated as a hero for aiding the escape of hundreds of North Koreans, has been imprisoned for sexually abusing teenage defectors.
Chun Ki-won, aged 67, has received a five-year sentence for molesting minors at his boarding school located in Seoul.
For years, Chun had been revered as a savior, earning titles like “Asian Schindler,” and his endeavors were likened to an “Underground Railroad” for those fleeing the oppressive North Korean regime.
His arrest in Seoul occurred in September, following police accusations of molesting six North Korean teenagers, including defectors residing in the dormitories of his alternative school established under his Durihana mission.
Despite Chun’s denial of the charges, a court ruling on Wednesday upheld the victims’ testimonies as undeniable evidence.
“The victims are making consistent statements and it includes content that cannot be stated without first-hand experience of the circumstances”, Judge Seung-jeong Kim of the Seoul Central District Court said.
The judge added that Chun had committed his crimes from “a position where he had absolute influence”.
He was found guilty in five of six cases of abuse against the minors – some of whom had escaped alone and others with their families under the guidance of Chun’s mission.
Chun founded Durihana, one of South Korean’s most prominent NGOs that helps North Koreans flee through routes in China.
He claims to have helped more than 1,000 North Koreans escape the hardline regime of the Kim family over the past 25 years, and has personally been condemned by Pyongyang for his work.
In 2002, he made headlines after being imprisoned in China for seven months during an escape mission.
His work – which included establishing an alternative school for children of North Korean defectors – was widely covered, the subject of documentaries and news articles including by the BBC, CNN, The New York Times, and National Geographic.
Media reports often compared him to Oskar Schindler, a businessman who rescued more than 1,100 Jews during the Holocaust.
His arrest and conviction has shocked South Korea – where his trial was widely reported this week.
TV bulletins showed the grey-haired Chun in a white outfit being brought to court in handcuffs and flanked by guards.
