Accountability

Korea Future is committed to advancing accountability and justice. We prioritise pathways that are viable, supported by survivors, and have a strong likelihood of success.

Between 2020 and 2022, Korea Future conducted extensive national, regional, and international mapping to identify effective means of supporting accountability for human rights violations committed in North Korea. As a result, we identified a set of viable options with realistic, time-bound prospects for enabling accountability for perpetrators and justice for victims. Among them were cases brought under the principle of universal jurisdiction; criminal cases; civil cases; and submissions to targeted human rights sanctions regimes. Survivors have expressed limited support for non-judicial approaches

Currently, the most viable pathway is the use of targeted human rights sanctions regimes in the European Union, United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia. These legal frameworks impose specific measures on individuals or entities responsible for serious human rights violations.*

In July 2024, the European Union imposed targeted human rights sanctions on North Korea’s Minister of State Security, Ri Chang Dae, and the Onsong County Ministry of State Security Detention Centre for widespread and systematic human rights violations. This decision was based on a comprehensive case file submitted by Korea Future in November 2023, which provided extensive primary evidence from victims, witnesses, and former state agents. This marked a watershed moment in the global fight for human rights in North Korea, as it was the first instance where a civil society organisation’s evidence and legal submission led to the sanctioning of a North Korean official or entity for human rights violations.

*A common misconception is that targeted human rights sanctions are the same as broad economic or financial sanctions imposed on a country. They are not. Targeted human rights sanctions focus solely on individuals directly implicated in human rights violations. They include measures such as travel bans and asset freezes. They also provide designated individuals and entities with the right to appeal and are time-limited, meaning they can be renewed if evidence demonstrates ongoing violations. Additionally, individuals or entities can seek to have their designation reversed or annulled by proving non-involvement in sanctionable conduct.