Footballer under probe over security law violation

By Nam Hyun-woo

Jong Tae-se

The prosecution said Thursday it is investigating Jong Tae-se, a North Korean international footballer playing in the South, after conservative online pundit Byun Hee-jae accused him of violating the National Security Law.

“We are looking into a complaint filed against him,” said an official from the Suwon District Prosecutors’ Office.

Byun, the publisher of online news outlet Media Watch, filed the complaint last week claiming the Suwon Bluewings striker “has lauded the North’s self-reliance ideology of juche and been playing the sport for the glory of the regime’s leader Kim Jong-un.”

He has alleged through publications and postings that Jong is a spy from the Stalinist regime because he reacted negatively to a recent controversy over whether he was eligible to play in the All-Stars match.

In cyberspace, the reaction to the moves has been overwhelmingly critical.

Jin Jung-kwon, a culture critic, denounced Byun on his Twitter account, saying that: “He should be seeing a psychiatrist.”

A netizen said: “With this logic, Samsung, the sponsor of the football club, should be under investigation for hiring a North Korea spy.”

Jong is of Korean-Japanese ethnicity and attended pro-Pyongyang schools in Japan. With the arbitration of FIFA, he played for the North Korean international football and was selected for the North’s squad for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

Because of his choice, controversy stirred among football fans over his nationality, when he signed a three-year contract with the Bluewings earlier this year.

Meanwhile, Jong was selected for the K-league All-Star match held Friday at Seoul World Cup Stadium.