The Korean American community in Los Angeles has launched a petition campaign urging the release of three Korean missionaries detained in North Korea for more than a decade. The initiative seeks to raise global awareness and encourage diplomatic efforts to secure the release of the long-held detainees, a case that human rights advocates say highlights ongoing concerns about religious freedom and political detention in North Korea.
Family members of one of the detained missionaries attended a press conference announcing the campaign. Jungsam Kim, the brother of Jungwook Kim, said the family has had no confirmed information about his brother’s whereabouts or condition for years. “Thirteen years have passed without knowing where my brother is, what he is doing, or even whether he is alive,” he said. “I hope the signature campaign starting today sends a message to the detained missionaries that they have not been forgotten.” Kim added that although his family had worried before his brother left for missionary work in North Korea, he ultimately chose that path out of faith and dedication.
Former detainee Hak-song Kim, who now serves as an organizer for the petition committee, also attended the event. He was detained in North Korea on May 6, 2017, and released on May 9, 2018. “Prayer and international attention eventually led to my release,” he said. “Each signature will become a prayer in action.”
Community leader Jaehak Lee, president of the Western U.S. chapter of the Korean War Veterans Association—an organization representing veterans of the Korean War that began on June 25, 1950—also spoke at the press conference. Lee recalled how his wife was separated from her family in Pyongyang during the war and how he later confirmed their survival and helped them defect in 1997. He noted that the missionaries currently detained in North Korea are also husbands and fathers with families awaiting news of their fate.
The petition campaign will run online through April 19, and organizers plan to submit the signatures to the White House, the U.S. Department of State, the United Nations Human Rights Council, the North Korean mission to the United Nations, and the North Korean Peace Committee.
In a resolution released with the campaign, organizers called for the immediate release of the detained missionaries, stronger diplomatic engagement from the international community, participation from Korean American communities and churches across the Americas, and broader humanitarian concern and solidarity.
Supporters can participate in the petition through the campaign’s website. For more information: (213)352-6253, songjx0509@gmail.com.
By Han-gil Kang and Yun-seo Song
