defector, who was tried for illegal border-crossing in Hyesan, Yanggang Province, in August 2012, replied that the role of judge was average, but those of the prosecutor, defense counsel, and People’s jurors were very active. The testifier said that there was a witness testimony, and in the end, the testifier was sentenced to one-and-a-half years of correctional labor punishment.126 Given that most are sentenced to five years for illegal border-crossing, one can presume that the discussion during the trial process may have affected the trial results.
designed to control its population without having to go through formal trial organizations and proceedings. North Korea is said to have abolished the Crowd Trial System, which was temporarily enforced during the Korean War, and operated the Comrade Trial System by region since around 1972. The legal grounds for the System are found in the Prosecution and Surveillance Law.
Article 40, paragraph 3 of the Law stipulates that a prosecutor may declare a Comrade Trial to rectify a violation of law or inquire into legal accountability when he/she intends to subject criminals to a preliminary examination, refer lawbreakers to the Socialist Law-Abiding Life Guidance Committee or the Comrade Trial Board, or penalize them with labor training or detention.
Subjects of a Comrade Trial are people who commit economic crimes, cause losses through negligence, or are involved in minor incidents hindering Kim Il Sung’s Unitary Ideology, and other relevant offenders. At a Comrade Trial, these people may be subject to unpaid labor of six months or less, while perpetrators of economic improprieties may be subject to an administrative fine equal to ten to twenty times the undue gain in the form of deduction from their salaries; suspension of exercise of administrative rights; demotion; self-criticism; stern warnings; admonitions; and so forth. However, there seems to be no appellate procedures in place.127A North Korean defector testified that Comrade Trials
127_Court Administration Agency‚ An Overview of North Korea’s Juridical System
were held on every regular market day (once every ten days) in Yonsa County, North Hamgyeong Province, and as a result, most (90 percent) went to labor training camps (rodongdanryundae) and some (10 percent) went to prison camps (kyohwaso).128
The Comrade Trial System is primarily carried out in the military.129 A North Korean defector replied regarding Comrade Trials that their purpose is “criticizing those who did not do military service well.” Most ended up with education, but those who caused social criticism were discharged and sent to prison camps.130 Comrade Trials in the military are conducted from the battalion level and always in the presence of an immediate superior. The results are predetermined by a higher department, and a Comrade Trial is enforced to set an example. The worst possible penalty is a dishonorable discharge.131 Those who are dishonorably discharged are relocated to mines of farming villages with his/her family members.132 Punishment is not imposed on-site for Comrade Trials. Preliminary examination procedures take place after Comrade Trials, and afterwards punishment based on the Criminal Law is imposed.133
(Seoul: Court Administration Agency‚ 1996)‚ pp. 630~637. (In Korean) 128_NKHR2016000188 2016-12-27.
129_NKHR2016000029 2016-03-08; NKHR2017000073 2017-08-28.
130_NKHR2016000001 2016-01-12.
131_NKHR2013000154 2013-08-20.
132_NKHR2015000069 2015-04-07.
(2) Political Criminal Trials by MSS
Numerous testimonies indicate that North Korea has maintained a policy of clearly differentiating the punishment for political crimes and general crimes. The North Korean Criminal Procedure Law stipulates that the cases related to crimes against the State or the people shall be subject to investigation and preliminary examination conducted by MSS institutions, and the first instance shall be held in a provincial court (or municipality directly under central authority). As such, cases related to crimes against the State or the people are handled differently than the cases of general crime (Article 46, 48 and 51).
However, according to one testimony, trials are conducted by the MSS, which is contrary to the applicable provisions of the Criminal Procedure Law. A former MSS agent testified that if a preliminary examination process at an MSS provincial bureau reveals that the criminal fact is true, such as through interrogation, it is reported to the MSS prosecutor’s office. If the prosecutor’s office determines that the suspect has in fact committed the criminal act, he/she is tried at the place where the preliminary examination was held. A prosecutor at the MSS prosecutor’s office renders a decision in the name of the Central Court, the trial is held behind closed doors, and a sentence is decided pursuant to the Criminal Law. The MSS also determines whether it would be
2015-12-01.
appropriate to imprison all the family members, and whether the criminal will be imprisoned for life. However, there exists no literature that provides a basis for such determination. Senior officers hold a Case Council meeting to decide how to handle a case, including the scope and duration of imprisonment.134 Another North Korean defector, who previously conducted relevant work at the MSS, said that at the end of a preliminary examination, a prosecutor from the MSS prosecutor’s office renders the final decision. The testifier said that in Nampo, South Pyeongan Province, a prosecutor from the MSS prosecutor’s office came to the MSS city branch in Nampo to adjudicate. Other cities and counties also transfer the control of these affairs to the MSS, and a prosecutor from the MSS prosecutor’s office makes a decision at the MSS provincial bureau. In sum, political prisoners allegedly do not undergo formal legal proceedings.135 A North Korean defector, who was forcibly repatriated from China to North Korea in 2010, explained that in the Sinuiju MSS, political offenders are distinguished from general offenders through investigation, after repatriation. Those who attempted to go to South Korea, the US and Japan, and those who received education from a church were categorized as political offenders and sent to political prison camps (kwanliso) without any trial process, unlike general
134_A North Korean defector, 19 April 2005, interviewed in Seoul.
offenders who went through trials.136
(3) Imposition of Administrative Penalties by Diverse Institutions
In North Korea, administrative penalties are imposed for violations of law that are not serious enough to be punished by the Criminal Law (Article 13 of the Administrative Penalty Law).
Administrative penalties include warnings/stern warnings, unpaid labor, re-educational labor punishment, demotion/dismissal/loss of employment, fines, suspension penalty, compensation penalty, confiscation penalty, suspension of qualification/degradation/
deprivation of qualification, etc. (Article 14 of the Administrative Penalty Law). However, in addition to judicial organizations, other institutions, including the Socialist Law-Abiding Life Guidance Committee, the Cabinet, institutions of the prosecutor’s office, arbitration institutions, institutions of the MPS, censorship supervision institutions, and qualification-granting institutions, can impose administrative penalties. Enterprises and organizations can also impose administrative penalties (Article 229 of the Administrative Penalty Law). Administrative penalties are also stipulated in the People’s Security Enforcement Law and the Prosecution and Surveillance Law. MPS institutions and the Responsible Workers’ Association can impose re-educational
136_NKHR2016000102 2016-06-28.
labor, suspension, degradation and deprivation of qualifications, suspensions, and confiscations for violation of legal orders (Article 57 of the People’s Security Enforcement Law).
In North Korea, a variety of administrative penalties, based on the Administrative Penalty Law, the People’s Security Enforcement Law, and the Prosecution and Surveillance Law, are utilized as a means of exercising strict social control over the North Korean people. Among these administrative penalties, unpaid labor and re-educational labor, and in particular, labor training cannot be simply regarded as a form of administrative discipline. Rather, they exhibit characteristics of punitive action.