The Pak Hon-yong and Yi Sung-yop case was a case in which the North Korean government accused Pak Hon-yong and Yi Sung-yop, along with 13 other domestic faction officials, of acting as spies for the United States, attempting to launch a military coup to overthrow the Republic and the rule of Kim Il Sung, and preventing Pyongyang from unifying the Korean Peninsula during 1952 and 1953. Due to an unfair trial, all 13 confessed. Ultimately, 10 of them, including Pak Hon-yong and Yi Sung-yop, were executed, and the other two were sent to concentration camps. Kim Il Sung subsequently purged domestic faction members, leading to the complete loss of power for the faction and indirectly triggering the later August faction incident. Most historians question the authenticity of the coup launched by Pak Hon-yong and Yi Sung-yop, and believe it was merely a tactic used by Kim Il Sung to eliminate his political enemies.
Background In 1945, Japan surrendered, World War II ended, and the Korean Peninsula was freed from Japanese rule. At that time, the peninsula was divided into two, with the Soviet Union taking over the north. In 1946, the Soviet Civil Administration established the People's Committee for North Korea, and many Koreans who believed in communism also came to join in the following years. Among them, the most influential were Kim Il Sung, the leader of the guerrilla faction, and Pak Hon-yong, the leader of the domestic faction. The confrontation between the two factions was thus formed. In 1948, Kim Il Sung was recognized by the Soviet Union as the national leader, and Kim Il Sung and Pak Hon-yong served as the chairman and vice chairman of the Workers' Party of Korea and the vice premier of the North Korean cabinet, respectively. The guerrilla faction won its first victory in the struggle against the domestic faction. Nevertheless, given the low educational level of the guerrilla faction members, the Soviet Union had to appoint officials from the Yan'an faction, the Soviet faction, and the domestic faction to important positions In the first Central Committee election, the guerrilla faction was only a minority, while the domestic faction won most of the seats. Therefore, the influence of the guerrilla faction within the party was still limited Kim Il Sung also continued to regard Pak Hon-yong and his confidant Yi Sung-yop as political enemies.
In 1950, Kim Il Sung, chairman of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, planned to unify the Korean Peninsula through war, a plan agreed to by Pak Hon-yong, who was then appointed vice chairman of the Workers' Party. However, the two had different views on the specific plan. Kim Il Sung believed that South Korea should be occupied by military force in one fell swoop; Pak Hon-yong advocated that while launching a military conflict along the 38th parallel, the political reconciliation path should be discussed with the South Korean government, and the South Korean people should be incited to revolt, so as to achieve the goal of unification without being interfered with by foreign forces. Since the proposals of the two represented the respective propositions of the two factions, the one whose proposal could help North Korea win the war would eventually establish his position in the party. However, as the guerrillas under the domestic faction suffered defeat after defeat, Kim Il Sung's plan was finally established. At the same time, he also took control of the party, military and political power on the grounds of "special needs after the outbreak of war". On the other hand, in order to prevent other factions from taking the opportunity to expand, Kim Il Sung purged the Yan'an faction and the Soviet faction in 1950 and 1951. However, considering that these two factions were supported by China and the Soviet Union, he did not carry out a large-scale purge, but only removed the leaders of the two factions— Mu Chong and Ho Ka-i.”彭德懷質疑金日成：朝鮮戰爭究竟是誰发動的？” 《多維新聞》 2011 12 24
In 1952, the Korean War was coming to an end. Considering that the domestic faction members were no longer of any use and lacked foreign support, Kim Il Sung began to make arrangements to eliminate the faction. At the 5th Plenary Session in December 1952, Kim Il Sung delivered a long speech condemning the domestic faction, led by Pak Hon-yong, for bearing the greatest responsibility for the defeat in the Korean War and the failure to unify the country. This also marked the beginning of the purge of the domestic faction.
Arrest and trial In early 1953, the official newspaper of the Workers' Party of Korea, Rodong Sinmun, suddenly claimed that Pak Hon-yong, Yi Sung-yop, and others attempted to launch a military coup, but failed. Subsequently, Im Hwa, vice chairman of the Central Committee of the Korea-Soviet Cultural Association, was arrested first, while Pak Hon-yong, Yi Sung-yop, and others were arrested between March and April 1953. +Thirteen domestic officials accused of plotting a coup and other crimesNameImagePositionRepresentative lawyerJudgementPak Hon-yongVice Chairman of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of KoreaVice Premier of the CabinetMinister of Foreign AffairsThe use of a representative lawyer is not allowed.Death penaltyYi Sung-yopMember of the Politburo of the Workers' Party of KoreaIke Young-daeDeath penaltyLee Won-joDeputy Chairman of the Propaganda and Mobilization Department12 years in prisonSol Jong-sikCultural Officer of the Frontline Command of the Korean People's ArmyDeath penaltyIm HwaVice Chairman of the Central Committee of the Korea-Soviet Cultural AssociationDeath penaltyBaek Hyung-bokMinistry of Home Affairs cadresLi Swe-hungDeath penaltyYoon Soon-daDeputy Minister of the Liaison Department15 years in prisonCho Il-myungMember of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of KoreaDeath penaltyBae CheolMinister of the Liaison DepartmentJeong Ing-hwaDeath penaltyPark Seung-wonDeputy Minister of the Liaison DepartmentDeath penaltyCho YongbokThe superior inspector of the Party Inspection CommitteeDeath penaltyYi Kang-gukMinister of CommerceJu Bing-gyuDeath penaltyMaeng Jong-hoCaptain of the 10th Company of the Liberation Guerrilla ForceDeath penalty On 30 July 1953, three days after the signing of the Korean Armistice Agreement, Lee Song-seol, chief prosecutor of the Supreme Prosecutor's Office, prosecuted 12 people, excluding Pak Hon-yong, for violating Article 25 of the Korean Criminal Code—high-level treason. Park Heon-yong's prosecution was delayed for unknown reasons.
On 3 August 1953, the trial began at the Special Military Tribunal of the Supreme Court of North Korea in Pyongyang. According to records, the presiding judge was Kim Ik-seon, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, the presiding judge was Park Yong-sook, the chief prosecutor was Kim Dong-hak, and the prosecutors were Kim Yoon-shik and Lee Chang-ho. In addition, a guard surnamed Park served as the court clerk. At the same time, the trial was conducted in an open manner, and anyone, including foreign journalists, could enter the court to attend the hearing. The Rodong Sinmun also reported on the case. In addition to Pak Hon-yong, the 12 defendants were also allowed to hire lawyers provided by the government.On the first day of the trial, the prosecution charged the 12 defendants with three counts: spying for the United States, attempting to stage a coup to overthrow the Republic and the rule of Kim Il Sung, and preventing Pyongyang from unifying the Korean Peninsula. Subsequently, Kim Ik-seon declared that the prosecution had fully grasped the evidence of their crimes, and therefore warned "the traitor Yi Sung-yop and his cronies who have been cursed by the people of the whole country" to confess the truth.
In the following days, the prosecution called 13 witnesses and presented evidence of the crimes committed by Yi Sung-yop and others. The case states that on 26 June 1950, Yi Sung-yop, who was in South Korea at the time, had contact with Harold Noble, a political advisor from the United States, John R. Hodge, the commander of the U.S. forces in South Korea, and Horace Underwood, an educator. They successfully recruited Yi Sung-yop as a spy and instructed him and his accomplices to launch an armed coup. At that time, the U.S. military would land in Wonsan and Anju.
Subsequently, Pak Hon-yong planned a coup through Lee Seung-yeop's message. They secretly established the Kumgang Political Academy on the border of North Korea and appointed his confidant Kim Eung-bin as its director to train reliable armed men. At the same time, to ensure the success of the coup, Yi Sung-yop first notified Liaison Minister Bae Cheol of the coup in September 1951 and asked him to assist him. In February 1952, Yi Sung-yop arranged for Meng Jong-ho, the captain of the 10th guerrilla company, to move his troops from Huaiyang County to Jung-hwa County, which is near Pyongyang, in order to gather 4,000 people to start an uprising.
At the same time, Yi Sung-yop and his confidants met at Park Hon-yong's residence. They determined that if the coup succeeded, Yi Sung-yop would become the first secretary of the newly established Korean Communist Party, Park Hon-yong would become the prime minister, Jang Si-woo and Joo Ning-ha would become the vice prime ministers, Park Seung- won would be the minister of the Interior, Lee Kang-guk would be the minister of the Foreign Affairs, Kim Eung-bin would be the minister of the Armed Forces, Jo Il-myung would be the minister of the Propaganda, Lim Ha would be the minister of Education, Bae Chol would be the minister of Labor, and Yoon Soon-da would be the minister of Commerce. In addition, they decided to launch the coup in the first week of September 1952. However, the coup was eventually discovered by Kim Il Sung and failed.
All 12 defendants admitted to the charges brought by the prosecution. During the trial, Lee Kang-guk repeatedly referred to himself as a lackey of American imperialism in court. Their lawyers did not defend or plead for their clients, but instead pleaded guilty on their behalf. On August 6, the last day of the trial, Lee Seung-yeop's lawyer stated in his closing statement that "although Yi Sung-yop calls himself a communist, he and his followers are nothing short of capitalists." Other lawyers made similar statements, claiming that their clients' poor background and corrupt lifestyle led them to have reactionary thoughts.
Afterwards, Yi Sung-yop and 12 others confessed to all the charges again during their confessions and said they felt deeply remorseful for their actions Yi Sung-yop thanked the presiding judge in front of everyone for giving him the opportunity to speak freely during the four days, and said he would face any punishment calmly, because life and death were no longer important to him. Lee Kang-guk then said that he was very happy that the country and the people had given him the opportunity to atone with his death Lim Ha claimed that he attempted suicide before the trial because he was afraid that people would expose his ugly side in court.
After deliberation, the jury found all 12 defendants guilty on all charges. Kim Ik-sun then sentenced Lee Won-jo and Yoon Soon-da to 12 and 15 years in prison, respectively, and the remaining 10 to death.
Park Hon-yong's Trial