North Korea Freedom Week 2009 Demonstration Speaker Bios
Senator Sam Brownback represents the people of Kansas in the U.S. Senate. In 2004, he and former Congressman James Leach, introduced the North Korea Human Rights Act, which unanimously passed the U.S Congress that Fall, and was reauthorized in 2008. He has been involved in the North Korea human rights issues since meeting the first North Korean defectors who visited the USA. He recently sponsored the North Korea Sanctions Act of 2009.
Congresswoman Ileana Ros Lehtinen represents the people of the 18th District of Florida in the U.S. Congress. She is the Ranking Republican member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the sponsor of the North Korea Sanctions and Diplomatic Nonrecognition Act of 2009, which was introduced in April. A refugee from Cuba who fled communism, she is among the most active Members of Congress on the promotion of freedom and human rights.
Congressman Ed Royce represents the people of the 49th District of California in the U.S. Congress. He has been one of the most active and outspoken members in support of broadcasting information into North Korea and been a champion and hero to the North Korean defectors for his constant involvement in promoting freedom and human rights in North Korea. He has also been the most active member in Congress in the events of North Korea Freedom Week speaking at every rally and many events since 2004.
Pastor Sharon Lee is the Senior Pastor of International Calvary Church, one of the host churches for North Korea Freedom Week. Through Pastor Lee's leadership, ICC has been actively involved in praying for North Korea and ICC was the host church also for the North Korea Freedom Week prayer vigil and prayer service.
Lindsay Vessey is founder and manager of the advocacy programs of Open Doors USA, an affliate of Open Doors International. Lindsay has been with Open Doors since 2004 and has spoken on my occassions on the plight of the North Korean people and Christian persecution in North Korea. As a member of the North Korea Freedom Coalition she has regularly spearheaded campaigns to save the North Korean refguees in China and has overseen the annual visits to Capitol Hill during North Korea Freedom Day.
Steve Kim, a New York businessman, was arrested in China in 2003 for helping North Korea refugees fleeing persecution and starvation in North Korea. He was sentenced to five years in prison under Article 318 and was imprisoned in Yangi, Chanchun and Beijing. Before he was arrested he had rescued 100 refugees through a program he started in 2001 called Schindler’s Mission. He was released one year early due to receiving sentence reduction points for doing forced labor in prison. He now leads 318 Partners Mission to continue his work and is the subject of both an upcoming book and documentary being produced by Hot Genre, Inc. about his experiences, the plight of the North Korean people and the refugees in China.
Pastor Heemoon Lee is a Vice Chairman of the North Korea Freedom Coalition. A long time leader in the Christian community for the suffering North Korea people, he has led many prayer vigils and events and serves as the East Coast Representative of the Korean American Church Coalition. He is also the founder and leader of Helping Angels for North Korean Refugees (HANKR), which aims to help refugees that have resettled in the United States.
Carl Gershman recently celebrated his 25th anniversary as the President of the National Endowment for Democracy, an institution with the mission to strengthen democratic institutions around the world through nongovernmental efforts. Through NED, he has provided critical support to nongovernmental organizations working for the promotion of human rights for North Korea. In addition to presiding over the Endowment's grants program in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union and Latin America, he has overseen the creation of the quarterly Journal of Democracy, International Forum for Democratic Studies, and the Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fellows Program. He also took the lead in launching in New Delhi in 1999 the World Movement for Democracy, which is a global network of democracy practitioners and scholars.
Suzanne Scholte is the Chairman of the North Korea Freedom Coalition and a founding board member and vice chairman of the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea. She is the president of the Defense Forum Foundation which in 1996 began a program sponsoring the first North Korean defectors to speak out publicly in the United States. Since that time she has hosted over 70 defectors to visit the USA. She recently received the Seoul Peace Prize 2008, Honorary citizenship of Seoul, and an Honorary Doctorate from Koshin University for her work promoting the freedom and human rights of the North Korean people and the status of the Sahrawi refugees in Western Sahara.
Hyun “Henry” Song is the Director of Projects and Grants for the Defense Forum Foundation, a director/trustee of PSALT NK (Prayer Service Action Love Truth for North Korea), and a member of the North Korea Freedom Coalition. He helped coordinate the two day events on behalf of the North Korea Freedom Coalition.
Jeff Park , is a long time activist for North Korea human rights and is a member of the North Korea Freedom Coalition. He has generously given of his time as the sound and music director for all the North Korea Freedom Coalition events including every North Korea Freedom Week since 2004. He heads the Seoul Presbyterian Praise Band.
Hyoju Kim is an intern with the Defense Forum Foundation who attends graduate school at Kyunghee University’s Graduate Institute of Peace Studies. She is working on a thesis on to help North Korean refugees and hopes to help the North Korean people when the country opens up.
T. Kumar is the Advocacy Director for Asia & Pacific for Amnesty International USA, a human-rights organization founded in 1961 by Englishman Peter Benenson; it campaigns internationally against the detention of prisoners of conscience, for the fair trial of political prisoners, to abolish the death penalty and torture of prisoners, and to end extrajudicial executions and disappearances throughout the world. It was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1977 for having aided in the release of more than 10,000 political prisoners worldwide. In 1998, the organization had over a million members worldwide.
Lucie Morillon is the Washington Representative of Reports Without Borders, an organization she joined in 2000 as a Researcher for the European and Former-USSR Desk, at a time when Milosevic’s Serbia was cracking down on journalists. She assumed the position of the organization’s International Coordinator, managing the development of Reporters Without Borders' branches (Germany, Austria, Belgium, Spain, France, Italy, Sweden and Switzerland), and of its offices in Abidjan, Bangkok, Montreal, New York and Tokyo. Transferred to Washington DC in July 2004, she opened a representative office in the American capital, where she supervises Reporters Without Borders USA in partnership with the NYC office. She covers issues related to press freedom in the United States ensuring that the American media give more coverage to press freedom abuses abroad.
John M. (Jack Rendler) has been an international human rights activist since 1978. From 1982 to 1993, he served on the staff of Amnesty International, where he directed campaigns for the improvement of human rights in southern Africa, northern Africa, Latin America, Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union, as well as China, Taiwan, South Korea, Indonesia, the Philippines, India and Sri Lanka. In 1994, he served with Unicef in Zaire (Congo) and Rwanda, resettling orphans of the Rwandan genocide. From 1997 to 1999, Jack was Executive Director of Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights and led the NGO efforts to report on the human rights violations in North Korea. He served as the Chair of the Board of Directors of the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea and since 2004, has been responsible for Amnesty International USA’s work on North Korea.
Jennifer Windsor has been the Executive Director of Freedom House since January 2001. Freedom House is a non-partisan, non-profit organization which supports the expansion of freedom in the world through its analysis, advocacy, and action. From 1991 to 2001, Jennifer worked at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), serving as the Deputy Assistant Administrator and Director of the Center for Democracy and Governance. She began her service at USAID working on democracy and governance issues in Africa, and also served as special assistant/deputy chief of staff to then USAID Administrator Brian Atwood. From 1986-1989, she worked on Capitol Hill on foreign policy issues with Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan and Congressman Ted Weiss.
Ed Borcherdt, a Korean War veteran, is the director of the Korean War Memorial Foundation and hosted the first event of North Korea Freedom Week: the laying wreath at the Memorial by the North Korea Freedom Week delegation to honor those who gave their lives for South Korea's freedom.
Michelle Kim is the founder and director of PSALT – a non-profit Christian ministry with a focus on North Korea and aiding North Korean refugees. PSALT was birthed out of conviction and calling after a few years of research, learning, prayer and travel to the region. Prior to launching PSALT's ministry, Michelle was an aide to her state Governor and worked on several successful political campaigns. Michelle continues to be active in her local community and church. PSALT is an active member of the North Korea Freedom Coalition.
Sue Yoon Logan was one of the founding members of the North Korea Freedom Coalition in 2003 and helped organize the First North Korea Freedom Day in 2004. She currently serves as the Administrator of the NKFC, overseeing the website and providing invaluable assistance in keeping people informed. She handled all of the promotional materials for North Korea Freedom Week as she has done since 2004.
Jane Yang is the Secretary of the North Korea Freedom Coalition and was the founder of the There is Hope In North Korea (THINK) Chapter at the University of Virginia where she obtained her B.A. She has been a volunteer active with the North Korea Freedom Coalition since she graduated from UVA.
Statements Will Be Read from
*Governor Kim Moon Soo of Gyeonggi Province
*Rabbi Abraham Cooper of the Simon Weisenthal Center and vice chairman of the North Korea Freedom Coalition
*Hwang Jang-yop, highest ranking North Korean defector