VZCZCXRO6237
PP RUEHVK
DE RUEHVK #0012 0490115
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 180115Z FEB 10
FM AMCONSUL VLADIVOSTOK
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1262
INFO RUEHMO/AMEMBASSY MOSCOW PRIORITY 0548
RUEHVK/AMCONSUL VLADIVOSTOK 1385

UNCLAS VLADIVOSTOK 000012 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR CA/OCS/EUR; MOSCOW FOR CG; MOSCOW FOR ACS CHIEF 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: CASC RS
SUBJECT: PRISON VISIT TO AMCIT HYO SOON PARK 
 
REF: 2009 VLADIVOSTOK 93 AND PREVIOUS 
 
Background: Hyo Soon Park was charged and convicted of Bribery 
of a Government Official.  Park was convicted on July 16, 2009 
and sentenced to 18 months in jail. 
 
¶1.  On February 15, 2010, Consular Officer and Consular 
Agent-Sakhalin visited Park in the Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk Prison.  We 
spoke with Park for 30 minutes, uninterrupted, in the presence 
of detention officials and the local MFA representative. 
 
¶2.  Park has serious, ongoing problems with his heart.  Consular 
Agent has been meeting with Park regularly since Park was first 
arrested.   Consular Agent noted that this was the worst that 
Park has ever looked.  Park was breathing very heavily and 
looked dizzy and disoriented at times.  Park reported that the 
left side of his body hurts and feels numb, he experiences rapid 
heart beating and that his blood pressure fluctuates both high 
and low.  Consular Agent is able to deliver heart and high blood 
pressure medicine prescribed by the prison doctor. 
 
¶3.  Including time served in pre-trial detention, as of February 
1, 2010, Park has served more than half of his sentence.  Park's 
lawyer submitted parole documents to the judge and formally 
requested that Park be released on parole. The date of the 
hearing has not been set.  Park requested that he not attend the 
parole hearing due to his poor health.  Consulate Vladivostok 
has submitted a Diplomatic Note formally requesting that Park be 
released on parole for humanitarian reasons. 
 
¶4.  Consular Agent spoke to a judge from the city court, the 
court in charge of parole, on February 10, 2010.  The judge said 
that due to the "severity" of Park's charges, he would not be 
due for parole until two-thirds of his sentence was over.  It 
has been the understanding of Park's lawyer, wife, and the 
Consulate, that he was eligible for parole after half of his 
sentence was served.  The Consulate spoke to Park's wife and 
lawyer about this, and his lawyer said that he is eligible for 
parole now. 
 
¶5.  Park's wife last visited him on February 5, 2010, and visits 
him about once every two months.  Consular Agent delivers Korean 
language newspaper to Mr. Park on a weekly basis.  The Consular 
Agent informed Park that he was able to put 2,000 rubles on 
Park's prison account and the prison officials allowed us to 
deliver fresh fruit to Park. 
 
¶6.  Though the Consular Agent has been visiting Park monthly 
without any problems, there was confusion about the procedures 
to meet Mr. Park this time.  There was a new prison warden and 
he said that the Consulate would need to follow different 
procedures, which included getting permission from the prison 
administration in Moscow and waiting 10 days. (Note: We spoke to 
ACS Embassy Moscow, and they are not aware of any 10-day rule.) 
After following this procedure we did not have any problems 
visiting Park.  The previous warden has returned, so it is not 
clear if we will need to follow these new procedures for future 
visits. 
 
¶7.  Post appreciates the Embassy and the Department also 
weighing in with appropriate officials on the urgency of 
granting parole for Mr. Park.  Parole would be in keeping with 
international norms, given that Park cannot receive the medical 
treatment he needs in prison. 
 
ARMBRUSTER