A South Korean citizen sentenced in September to a seven-year prison term in Iran on charges of espionage will be released on appeal “after proper judicial proceedings take place,” an official at the Iranian Embassy in Seoul told The Korea Herald on Thursday.
The Korean man, now 43, was caught in Iran in October 2012 taking photos of sensitive security facilities, including police stations, foreign embassies and border areas.
“We have been working on this case for two or three months,” said the Iranian diplomat.
The case was also discussed on Oct. 8 when the Iranian Foreign Ministry’s Director-General for East Asia and Pacific Affairs Rasoul Mohajer met First Vice Minister Kim Kyou-hyun and other senior Foreign Ministry officials in Seoul, the Iranian diplomat said.
“We reached a point for a very positive result in our discussions,” the diplomat said. “I cannot give you an exact date because the judiciary will determine that, but it will be very soon.”
The circumstances surrounding the South Korean, identified as Kim Heu-ruj by the Iranian Embassy, were revealed by Rep. Park Byeong-seog of the main opposition Democratic Party during a parliamentary inquiry of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Park criticized Korean diplomats during the inquiry for failing to adequately protect Korean nationals abroad.
Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se subsequently vowed to secure Kim’s swift release.
Kim had lived in the United Kingdom continuously for 12 years and, though he retained Korean citizenship, did not receive a tourist visa from an Iranian diplomatic mission to visit the country, the Iranian envoy said. He also had no stated occupation. Kim went to Iran following trips to Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Turkey, according to one media report.
“There first has to be a change in his sentence upon appeal, and then he can be released,” he said.
