South Korean accused of spying on N.Korea in U.S.
By Christine Kearney
Reuters
Thursday, July 19, 2007; 6:01 PM
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A South Korean man was arrested and accused of
spying for South Korea and obtaining information from North Korea in
return for payments, U.S. officials said on Thursday.
Park Il Woo, 58, a U.S. resident who has lived in Manhattan for 20
years and who also used the name Steve Park, was arrested on
Wednesday. He was charged with lying to FBI agents about meetings
with South Korean diplomats in New York between 2005 and 2007, the
U.S. Attorney's Office in New York said.
Park repeatedly told agents falsely that he had no contact with
several South Korean officials, according to a complaint unsealed in
federal court in Manhattan. It is illegal under U.S. law to act on
behalf of a foreign government without registering with the U.S.
attorney general.
At a Manhattan federal court hearing on Thursday, Park was ordered
released on $150,000 bail secured by $5,000 in cash and ordered to
have no contact with South Korean officials.
His lawyer, Deirdre von Dornum, argued Park should be set free as he
had been charged with lying, not formally charged with spying, and
had little money to flee.
Prosecutor Edward O'Callaghan said Park admitted after his arrest to
being paid by and dealing with other South Korean agents and would
likely be indicted on espionage charges that could carry a maximum of
15 years in prison.
"This defendant admitted to receiving cash payments from South Korean
officers for tasks he was completing on their behalf," he said,
labeling him a "covert agent" who undertook "clandestine activities"
for the past five years.
A court affidavit said that in April 2005, Park told an unidentified
South Korean government official in a phone call taped by the FBI
that North Korean officials had asked him to bring them insecticides,
anesthetics and veterinary products on an upcoming trip to North Korea.
It was not revealed why North Korea sought the items or how much Park
was paid by South Korea for passing on information.
During an FBI interview in August 2005, Park asked his questioners
why they were not asking about his relationship with North Korean
officials. He also offered to act as a "go-between" between the
United States and high-ranking North Korean officials, according to
an affidavit.
He told the FBI he did not have a good relationship with South Korea,
as that country had executed his father as a suspected communist and
he again emphasized his relationship with North Korea, the affidavit said.
He later said he did not know a particular South Korean official, but
left that interview to immediately meet the same official, the affidavit said.
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