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Korean American woman deported for allegedly pro-N. Korean comments arrives at LAX to chaos

January 12, 2015
Shin Eun-mi, who was deported by Korean Immigration Services for holding an allegedly pro-North Korea lecture series, arrived in LAX Saturday. (Park Sang-hyuk/The Korea Times)

Shin Eun-mi, who was deported by Korean Immigration Services for holding an allegedly pro-North Korea lecture series, arrived in LAX Saturday. (Park Sang-hyuk/The Korea Times)

By James Goo

Shin Eun-mi, the Korean American woman who was accused of holding a pro-North Korea lecture in South Korea, was deported from the country and returned to Los Angeles Saturday.

Shin’s arrival at Tom Bradley International Terminal inside LAX was met with a crowd of supporters and naysayers.

Shin, 54, is a California resident. Korea Immigration Services deemed her lecture series held last year — in which she allegedly made North Korea-sympathetic comments — in violation of Seoul’s National Security Law.

She will be unable to enter South Korea for five years.

A Los Angeles Korean conservative group waits for Shin Eun-mi's arrival at LAX Saturday.

A Los Angeles Korean conservative group waits for Shin Eun-mi’s arrival at LAX Saturday.

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Members of Korean progressive groups in Los Angeles wait for Shin Eun-mi’s arrival at LAX with supportive signs.

She received flower bouquets from church groups and a handful of progressive organizations that came out with signs supporting “One Korea,” but was told to “go to North Korea” by opposers and members of a conservative group based around Los Angeles.

She said she felt as though she’d been betrayed by someone she loved by being deported. Being labeled pro-North Korea by Korean media was hurtful, she said.

The scene inside the terminal was one of chaos Saturday as organizations’ members verbally fought. A woman belonging to one of the conservative groups, surnamed Jang, was arrested by police for assaulting a member of a progressive group. An unidentified Korean man pushed the president of one of the conservative groups present with both hands and was taken in for police investigation.

Under South Korean law, pro-North Korean sentiment is punishable by up to seven years in prison. Critics — including U.S. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki, according to the Huffington Post — say the law “limits freedom of expression and restricts access to the Internet.”

5 Comments

  1. Laurence Fromm

    January 12, 2015 at 1:32 PM

    I think its arrogant to take a couple of escorted trips to the DPRK and preach to ROK as being all knowing. I also think the state department in Washington DC are preaching about free speech from a position of safety. It would of been better to have Shin Eun-mi meet with DPRK defectors Kang Chol-hwan or others. Its ‘OK’ to dream about reunification. Dreaming must not ignore realities either.

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  2. Kam

    January 14, 2015 at 5:55 AM

    How backward is S Korea? This just makes me wonder if living there is any different than living in the north…

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