Self-styled Korean 'Schindler' faces charges of blackmailing

SEOUL, South Korea -- Rim Young Son, a former North Korean army lieutenant, leads a network of activists who help refugees escape the harsh conditions in the isolated communist country and reach freedom in South Korea.

The group calls itself "Schindler's Club," comparing its mission of aiding defectors to that of German factory owner Oskar Schindler who saved Jews from Nazi death camps during World War II.

"I cannot just sit and watch poor North Korean refugees fleeing the barbaric rule of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il," said Rim, who escaped to the South in 1993.

But authorities in South Korea say the club has a dark side.

Police filed blackmail charges against Rim this week, alleging his group tried to extort about $162,000 from defectors they helped reach the South over the past two years.

Rim, who was arrested and released while the investigation continues, calls the charges groundless and filed a suit Friday claiming the arrest was illegal.

In recent years, activists like Rim have brought hundreds of North Korean refugees to South Korea.

Rim, whose group claims to have helped nearly 200 refugees reach the South, said he collects about $1,710 each from some defectors to help cover the costs of the route.

The refugees sneak across the border into China, where activists take them on a journey that can take them through Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar or Thailand. Rim admits his group pursues refugees for money, but denies any extortion.

"About 40 percent of the defectors we bring to South Korea break their promise and don't pay the money," he said. "It's not extortion. We are asking them to keep their word."