Suji Kim (Kim Ok-bun) and Yun Tae-sik Case - Manipulated Patriotism, Disappeared Truth
Prologue: The Lie of Doing It for the Country
In January 1987, a man arrived at Gimpo Airport. He spoke seriously in front of reporters, saying, "As a citizen of the Republic of Korea who lived abroad, the most important thing is patriotism." However, this statement was not true. What he was hiding was not patriotism, but murder. The Suji Kim espionage fabrication case is a representative example of how an individual's lies, when combined with state power, can destroy many lives. This incident vividly illustrates the historical lesson of what kind of tragedy can occur when a man's pathological delusions align with the goals of the state.
Act 1: From Poverty to Desire - The Start of Yoon Tae-sik
Yoon Tae-sik was born in Seoul in 1958. He spent his childhood in a poor family, and his mother made ends meet by selling blood pudding from a slaughterhouse in Majang-dong to cover school expenses. After dropping out of middle school, Yoon Tae-sik continued his life by selling ice cream and carrying goods at Dongdaemun Market. However, he soon became preoccupied with the idea that "money is power." In the early 1980s, when a video boom occurred in Korea, Yoon Tae-sik seized the business opportunity. During a time when copyright concepts were underdeveloped, he bought the rights to Hong Kong films at a low price and imported them to Korea. He generated massive profits by bringing in films for 500,000 won and reselling them to large companies for tens of millions of won, reportedly earning 5 billion won by the mid-1980s. However, Yoon Tae-sik was unable to maintain this success. His business soon declined due to ostentatious consumption, arrogance, and the betrayal of internal interpreter staff, leading him to return to a state of poverty.
Act 2: Is it Love or Usage? — Meeting with Suji Kim
After the business failure, Yoon Tae-sik decides to learn Cantonese in order to find a chance to get back on his feet, and he moves to Hong Kong. While looking for a place to stay, he meets a Korean woman named Kim Ok-bun and starts living with her. She was known by the name 'Suji Kim' and was a woman from a rural area in Chungcheong Province, making a living by working in entertainment establishments between Japan and Hong Kong. The two quickly grew close and decided to marry after a short cohabitation period. However, their married life was not smooth. Yoon Tae-sik often disregarded and insulted Suji Kim, and eventually, during an intense marital fight, he pushed her, causing her to hit her head and die on the spot. Yoon Tae-sik hid her body under the bed and left Hong Kong as if nothing had happened.
Act 3: The Beginning of Manipulation - Joining Forces with the Intelligence Agency
Yoon Tae-sik leaves Hong Kong and heads to Singapore. He approaches the North Korean embassy and requests to "defect to the North," but is turned down due to his shabby appearance and unconvincing manner of speaking. He then enters the U.S. embassy and begins to make false claims, stating that "a North Korean agent tried to abduct him." This lie finds an unexpected opportunity. At the time, South Korea was in a crisis due to the January 1987 torture and death of Park Jong-cheol. The National Security Planning Agency needed "alternative news" to cover up this incident. The story Yoon Tae-sik provided perfectly matched this purpose. The agency packaged him as an "anti-communist hero approached by a North Korean spy" and prepared for a large press conference. On January 9, Yoon Tae-sik answers questions from the press at Gimpo Airport. His line, "The most important thing is patriotism," was a script tailored to the agency's scenario. He is immediately taken to the agency's Namsan headquarters for training, and the fictional setting of "Suzikim is a pro-North Korea female spy" is completed.
Act 4: Collapsed Lives — The Tragedy of the Sujkims and Their Families
On the other hand, a hellish time began for the family of Suji Kim. The body of Okbun Kim was treated as an unclaimed deceased and was cremated collectively in Hong Kong, leaving her family unable to even see her ashes. The National Security Agency forcibly took Suji Kim's mother and sisters for questioning the elderly mother in her sixties was trampled under military boots, the eldest sister died early due to schizophrenia, and the other sisters experienced divorce and unemployment. They had to live with the stigma of being the 'family of a spy' for the rest of their lives, and no matter how much they protested, the media did not cover this story. As the saying goes, 'no one listened to the truth,' the voices of the bereaved families were thoroughly silenced.
Act 5: The Return of Ripley - Born Again as a Con Artist
Yoon Tae-sik lives under the support of the National Security Planning Agency, using the name 'Shin Il-koo.' He was monitored by making phone reports to the agency five times a day, but aside from that, he was essentially a free man. He posed as an agent of the agency, forged identification cards, and manipulated employment certificates to attempt fraudulent marriages with dozens of women. Eventually, he ended up serving time due to fraud charges. After his release, he founded a biometric recognition venture and transformed once again into a businessman. At that time, he attempted to supply products to banks such as Woori Bank (formerly Hanbit Bank) and even demonstrated biometric recognition in front of President Kim Dae-jung. The world still viewed Yoon Tae-sik as a 'patriot,' while only his grieving relatives cried out in despair.
Act 6: Restoration of Truth — Whistleblowing, Revelation, Court
In 2000, Lee Jeong-hoon, a reporter for Weekly Dong-A, exclusively reported on the Suji Kim case, revealing the truth. SBS also aired related content on its program "I Want to Know That," and finally, Yoon Tae-sik was arrested on November 13, 2001, on charges of murder and fraud. The prosecution sought a sentence of 15 years and 6 months in prison, which the court accepted. The court ordered a total compensation of 4.2 billion won to the state and then-Director of the National Intelligence Service, Jang Se-dong. Yoon Tae-sik was fined 450 million won, while Jang Se-dong was fined 900 million won however, Yoon Tae-sik had already hidden his assets, and Jang Se-dong also escaped punishment. Ultimately, no one was held accountable.
Epilogue: Manipulated History, Irresponsible State
Yun Tae-sik is currently running a cryptocurrency business in Silicon Valley, USA. In a media interview, he stated that he would live as a sinner, but still, he is free, and the bereaved families continue to suffer. Former National Security Agency chief Jang Se-dong denied responsibility, claiming it was merely an accident. This case is not a simple murder. It is a typical example of how the state can exploit an individual's lies and, as a result, completely destroy a family. Moreover, the damage did not stop in 1987. The truth was revealed late, the perpetrators are still living, and the victims have been forced to remain in endless silence.
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