Tuesday, June 13, 2006
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Georgia Senators Support Korean-American Seeking Family Reunion in North Korea
Saemsori with Senator Johnny Isakson (R-GA)
Saemsori with Senator Saxby Chambliss (R-GA)
high-resolution photos for press below
13 June 2006, Washington, DC—Senators Johnny Isakson (R-GA) and Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) today met with 17-year-old Heeyoung Sohn of Alpharetta,GA to support her campaign to help her grandmother find relatives in North Korea. Because of political tensions for half a century, Ms. Sohn’s grandmother has been unable to make any contact with North Korea, even to confirm that her parents and seven brothers and sisters in North Korea are still alive.
“My grandmother is 83 years old. She’s been in a coma for the past seven years,” said Ms. Sohn. “This is her last chance. If the US can talk to North Korea about nuclear weapons or refugees, why won’t they talk about my grandmother, an American citizen?”
Ms. Sohn is interning at Saemsori, a campaign for Korean American families to ask both the US and the North Korean governments to cooperate on family reunions. Over 15 members of Congress currently support Saemsori. “This is not a political issue,” she said. “My grandmother has nowhere to turn for help in the US government.” Currently, there is no US embassy or government office to help tens of thousands of American families looking for relatives in North Korea.
Family reunions between the United States and North Korea have occurred on a case-by-case basis, and are largely available to the wealthy and well-connected. Korean Americans who attempt to negotiate family reunions on their own, either directly with the North Korean government or through third-country brokers, may find themselves in trouble with US laws.
With the support of the American government, Ms. Sohn said she hoped there would be a safer way for Korean Americans to contact North Korea about their families.
Accompanied by Alice Suh and Dr. Stephen Linton of Saemsori, Ms. Sohn also met with Senator Saxby and Senator Isakson’s foreign policy advisors. They presented a plan to make formal requests to the US and North Korean governments to cooperate on family reunions.
Ms. Sohn was born and raised in the Atlanta suburbs and is senior class president at Chattahoochee High School in Alpharetta, GA.
Saemsori is a project of the Eugene Bell Foundation, a faith-based organization headquartered in Clarksville, MD which supports TB and medical projects in North Korea. For over a decade, EugeneBell has worked with the North Korean government on medical assistance and food aid projects inside the country.
High-resolution photos of Saemsori’s meetings available here:
-Senator Saxby Chambliss (R-GA)
-Senator Johnny Isakson (R-GA)
For more information on Saemsori, please visit:
www.saemsori.org
Telephone: 202-329-2410