South Korean held in Russia on espionage allegation is missionary helping the needy, his group says
By HYUNG-JIN KIM
Associated Press
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A South Korean Christian aid group says that a South Korean national held in Russia on an espionage allegation is one of its missionaries dispatched there to support the needy and spread the gospel. The Global Love Rice Sharing Foundation on Wednesday called the spying allegation “preposterous.” Russia’s state news said Monday that the South Korean was detained earlier this year in the eastern city of Vladivostok on suspicions that he passed state secrets to foreign intelligence services. Tass said he was the first South Korean arrested in Russia for alleged espionage.