An International Association of Democratic Lawyers (IADL) and the Confederation of Lawyers of Asia and the Pacific (COLAP) fact-finding commission released the final report of its delegation to Korea on 30 September 2019.
The fact-finding commission’s work centered on the case of 12 young women, citizens of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (frequently referred to as North Korea). This case is well-known in Korean media as the “Waitresses case.” The 12 women were allegedly trafficked from their work at the Ryukyeong Korean Restaurant in Ningbo, China, via Malaysia, to Seoul, the capital of the Republic of Korea (referred to as South Korea.) The women’s families and representatives of the DPRK have stated that the women were kidnapped against their will with the involvement of South Korean intelligence agencies.
The fact-finding commission consisted of Jun Sasomoto, General Secretary of the Confederation of Lawyers for Asia and the Pacific; Micol Savia, permanent representative of the International Association of Democratic Lawyers at the United Nations in Geneva; and Niloufer Bhagwat, Vice President of the Confederation of
Lawyers of Asia and the Pacific. It followed up on the work of a preparatory committee, which consisted of Sasamoto, Savia, and veteran French lawyer Roland Weyl, First Vice President of the International Association of Democratic Lawyers.
Read the full report below or download the PDF here.