On or around 10 August 1978, Geon-pyo Hong5 and his friend Myung-woo Lee left home to go to Hong Do Beach for their summer vacation. They were confirmed to be on board the boat from Mokpo bound for Hong Do Island on or around 10 August 1978 and seen by someone on the beach on that date. However nobody has seen them since that date. Dong-A Ibo, a leading newspaper in South Korea, reported on 20 November 1997 that the Agency for National Security Planning (NSP) in South Korea (currently known as the National Intelligence Service) learned during the interrogation of the North Korean husband and wife spies, Jeong-nam Choi and Yeon-jeong Kang, captured in South Korea on 27 October 1997, that Geon-pyo Hong and Myung-woo Lee were abducted from Hong Do Beach on 10 August 1978 by a North Korean spy6. Until then Mr. Hong’s family did not know that he had been abducted by North Korean agents and lived in North Korea. Mr. Hong’s family thought that Mr. Hong might have been trafficked by a fishing boat but was still living in South Korea. (f) * State or State-supported forces believed to be responsible for the disappearance. If the perpetrators are believed to be State agents, please specify and indicate who and why they are believed to be responsible. Be as precise as possible (military, police, persons in uniform or civilian clothes, agents of security services, unit to which they belong, rank and functions, identifications presented, etc.)… North Korean state agents are responsible for the disappearances of Geon-pyo Hong. (g) If identification as State agents is not possible, please indicate why you believe that Government authorities, or persons linked to them, may be responsible for the incident N/A (h) If there are witnesses to the incident, please provide their names and relation to the victim. If they wish to remain anonymous, indicate if they are relatives, by-standers, or others. If there is evidence, please specify. N/A (i) Additional Information on the case. Please indicate any other relevant information that could be useful to find the person DongA Ilbo reported on 20 November 1997 that the husband and wife spies and Dong-sik Kim, a North Korean spy captured in 1995, said that Geon-pyo Hong and Myung-woo Lee became an instructor teaching North Korean spies about South Korean culture and how to speak with a South Korean accent. According to the Dong A Ilbo, Geon-pyo Hong and Myung-woo Lee were also reportedly trained by Mr. Hong and Mr. Lee.7 5 6 7 Please see Attachment 3: a photograph of Geon-pyo Hong at the age of 17 years old DongA Ilbo article dated on 20 November 1997 (http://news.donga.com/3/all/19971120/7301061/1) See footnote 5 above 5