The Refugee Soldier: He Committed Drink-Driving in North Korea?

By Go Jung Min (GoGoJ@naver.com)

According to National Intelligence Service, O Chung-seong, the refugee soldier from North Korea on November 13, jumped over the 38^th parallel after running over a passerby. It was also said that he had already got drunk when interviewed right after coming over to South Korea by the authority.

E-Daily said that when O Chung-seong was in his military service, he was likely to commit drunk driving and then executed an escape from North Korea because he was afraid of being sentenced to death penalty on charge of his commitment. The press added his quote, “I can never be free from my commitment, which brought death to someone in his military camp.”

However, representative members from National Intelligence Service brushed aside the report from E-daily, and they announced that Korea Ministry of Defense(KMD) and NIS will set a joint investigation team and is going to make continuous questionings about what the refugee soldier had done in North Korean and the sequence he jumped over NLL and knocked on the door of South Korea.

When it comes to the extradition treaty, the minister of the National Defense strongly claimed that there is no need and no obligation to hand the northern soldier over to the north as the both North and South Korea government have not make the extradition treaty. For this matter, the reaction from the authority of North Korean is going to be awaited and focused on.

The concern also mentioned that “He is going to leave the military hospital and get some close examination to get to know the truth of his case.”

O Chung-seong, the refugee soldier from North Korea, drove through JSA from the north by military truck and asked to defect to South Korea visiting Panmunjeom. While he was running to Panmunjeom, he got shot on his shoulder and left elbow, and now getting better with treatment in a military hospital. The medical team is going to decide when he will leave the hospital soon.