Robert Kim Released from House Arrest

Sixty-four-year-old Robert Kim (Korean name, Kim Chae-gon), who was imprisoned in a United States prison for channeling classified information of the U.S. to a Republic of Korea government official, has asked the government of Korea to restore his honor as he ends his prison term of seven-and-a-half years on July 27.

He told the reporters, at a press conference held at his home in Virginia after the expiration of the house arrest period, that his honor was injured and has not been restored yet.

Upon being questioned about his feelings towards the South Korean government, he said, “I am sorry about how the government managed the situation, but as it is all in the past, I will not purposefully ruminate upon the matter.” However, he went on to say, “The Korean government never once told me whether I was helpful or not,” and added, “My honor will be restored at once when they expressively state that the information I provided was indeed helpful.”

In his “Statement to the Nation” that he presented on that day, he pointed out that “the government ignored the innocence of my motives and my existence at a very crucial moment when I offered vital information in order to help Korea.”

He said, “Although I do not yet have total freedom from legal restraint, as a quasi-free man, I want to look for ways to help Korea and its people.”

Kim had to wear a monitoring device on his ankle for about two months during his house arrest period after being released on parole at the beginning of June. At noon, he removed the monitoring device as his family, reporters, and the people from his support groups watched as he expressed his feelings, saying, “I went out of the house to get the paper and mail for the first time.”

Kim was arrested by the U.S. government under the charge of espionage for passing over more than 50 cases of classified intelligence, including information on commotion within the North Korean military, international aid being channeled into feeding soldiers, the North Korean soldiers’ positions around the truce line, the trade of weapons by North Korea, the moves by their navy, and on statistics concerning refugees to 56-year-old Baek Dong-il, who was a naval officer serving at the Korean Embassy in the mid-90s.

He said, “I never imagined that I would be put in such a big dilemma at the time,” and added, “It is nonsensical to repeat my actions knowing all that I know now,” upon being asked whether he would chose to do what he did if he is put back into such a situation.

His sentence was reduced from nine years of prison time and three years of probation to seven years and six months in prison when his good behavior was recognized. However, he still needs to seek approval from the court when he needs to leave Washington during his three years of probation.