South Korea has formally referred six American citizens to prosecutors for the “crime” of sending rice, dollar bills, and Bibles to starving and oppressed North Koreans.
On June 27, 2025, six Americans, aged between 20 and 50, tried to float approximately 1,300 plastic bottles off the coast of Ganghwa Island, an area near the North Korean border. Each bottle contained rice, $1 bills, and Bibles, according to the local news outlet Munhwa Ilbo.
The Americans, identified only as Christians motivated by missionary purposes, told police their sole intent was to feed the hungry and share scripture with North Koreans who live under the world’s most brutal dictatorship. No weapons, no propaganda leaflets, no espionage, just rice and Bibles.
On August 26, the Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency officially handed the case to prosecutors, charging the Americans under the Framework Act on the Management of Disasters and Safety, a statute normally reserved for genuine threats to public safety.
The penalty? Up to one year in prison or a ₩10 million ($7,500) fine.
More from Naver News:
Individual A and others are accused of attempting to float approximately 1,300 plastic bottles containing rice, one-dollar bills, and Bibles into the sea at around 1:06 a.m. on June 27th from Mangwoldondae in Hajom-myeon, Ganghwa County, Incheon.
During police questioning, individual A and others, who are Christian, claimed they were “trying to send Bibles to North Korea for missionary purposes.”
Police investigated whether they had any ties to domestic or foreign religious groups, but said no group behind the act has been identified.
Ganghwa County, where the individuals attempted to scatter leaflets, has been designated a risk zone since November of last year, and an administrative order banning the scattering of leaflets toward North Korea is in effect.
According to The Gateway Pundit’s contact in South Korea:
I want to alert you to a deeply troubling case in South Korea that directly targets U.S. citizens and religious freedom.
On June 27, 2025, six Americans in their 20s to 50s attempted to float approximately 1,300 PET bottles into the sea off Ganghwa Island, a border area near North Korea. The bottles contained rice, $1 bills, and Bibles. Their stated purpose was purely missionary and humanitarian—to provide food and scripture to starving and oppressed North Koreans.
Instead of recognizing this as a charitable act, South Korean authorities arrested them and, on August 26, 2025, formally referred all six to the prosecution for violating the so-called Framework Act on the Management of Disasters and Safety.
Critical problems with this case:
1. Criminalizing faith and charity. These individuals did not engage in violence or espionage. They tried to send food and Bibles. Punishing such action under a disaster-management law is a legal distortion.
2. Appeasing Pyongyang. The “ban” used against them was a local administrative order restricting balloon/bottle launches, imposed to avoid provoking North Korea. In other words, Americans are being prosecuted in South Korea to please the Kim regime.
3. Religious freedom violated. Article 18 of the ICCPR (International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights), which South Korea has ratified, guarantees the right to manifest one’s religion “in teaching, practice, worship and observance.” Sending Bibles falls squarely within that right.
4. A dangerous precedent. This is the first reported case of Americans prosecuted for missionary aid at the DMZ. If accepted, it means that anyone—Korean or foreign—who tries to reach North Koreans with food or scripture can face criminal punishment.
5. Absurd proportionality. The maximum penalty is 1 year in prison or ₩10 million ($7,500) fine—the same level of punishment one might expect for genuine public safety threats, not for delivering rice and Bibles.
Why it matters:
This case shows how the Lee Jae-myung administration is not only suppressing domestic churches but now extending its crackdown to U.S. citizens of faith. The charge is not about public safety—it is about political control, silencing acts that embarrass North Korea.
When Bibles and rice are treated as contraband, it is no longer rule of law—it is appeasement of tyranny.
I hope you can bring attention to this story. Americans deserve to know that six of their citizens are being treated as criminals in South Korea simply for trying to feed and evangelize their northern neighbors.
Sincerely,
— A concerned South Korean citizen
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