Spying Suspect Wins Release on Bail

A federal magistrate reversed himself Friday and ordered the release of a Korean American businessman who had been jailed since his arrest two months ago on charges of failing to register as an agent for North Korea.

Citing new information, some of it confidential, Magistrate Victor Kenton concluded that John Joungwoong Yai was not a flight risk or a danger to the community. He set bond at $400,000.

Yai, a naturalized U.S. citizen, has been a longtime champion of the reunification of South and North Korea, and had been under FBI investigation since 1996.

In February, he was arrested on charges of failing to register as an agent of a foreign government, making false statements to U.S. customs inspectors and transporting more than $10,000 in currency into the country.

Prosecutors said the Santa Monica resident had been providing information to the North Korean government about U.S. military, economic and political trends, and was trying to recruit others in the Korean American community to work for the Pyongyang regime.

At a hearing after his arrest, Kenton ordered him held without bail. In reversing himself Friday, Kenton noted that the information Yai was accused of sending to North Korea consisted of nothing more than publicly available documents and press clippings.

In papers filed with the court, defense attorney William Genego cited an FBI document that said the bureau’s Los Angeles field office wanted criminal charges filed against Yai, not to send him to jail, but to “neutralize” him and “send a message” to other supporters of North Korea in the United States.

The memo was among a large batch of documents turned over to the defense by federal prosecutors. There was no discussion about the memo during Friday’s hearing, and Assistant U.S. Atty. Daniel Goodman declined to talk about it afterward.

Goodman argued unsuccessfully in court that the defense had no legal grounds to reopen the bail issue. After losing that point, he contended that the defendant was an extreme flight risk who has demonstrated his loyalty, “not to the United States but to a foreign power.”

The prosecutor derided what he called Yai’s attempt to “take on the persona of a gentle Korean businessman.”

In support of Yai’s release, the defense solicited letters from an assortment of relatives, friends and figures in the Korean American community, including two Protestant ministers who described him as a humble and gentle spirit devoted to his family and adopted country.

“He is not a dangerous person,” wrote the Rev. S. Joseph Paik of West Anaheim United Methodist Church. “Instead, he is a reliable, honest, sincere and peace-loving person. He loves his family, friends and neighbors. He loves his motherland Korea and he also loves his chosen country, the United States of America.”

A starkly different portrait of Yai was reflected in letters downloaded from his home computer after his arrest and entered into the record by prosecutors. In one letter dated July, 3, 2001, Yai wrote to his North Korean contact that he was starting a new business and would no longer be able to “do our work.”

He said he had reached that decision “with aching heart” and professed “my continuing love toward Big Father,” an apparent reference to North Korea’s now deceased founder, Kim Il Sung. He also referred to South Korea’s government as “the enemy.”

Yai and his wife, Susan Youngja, also are charged with lying to customs inspectors about $18,000 in cash they were carrying when they returned from a trip to Vienna and Prague. The government alleged the cash had been given to them by North Korean intelligence agents in Europe. Susan Youngja, a bank employee, has remained free.

In ordering Yai’s release, Kenton said he “has been shown to be of good moral character.” He noted that Yai’s family had pledged “everything they own” to secure his bond. The judge rejected a request by defense co-counsel Michael Nasatir to free Yai before the bond is posted so he can attend Easter Sunday church services with his family. He also turned down a prosecution request to place Yai on electronic monitoring. No date has been set for Yai’s trial.