According to the British Daily Mail on the 18th (local time), North Korea recently publicly executed a couple in their 50s who had amassed considerable wealth by running a bicycle and motorcycle repair and rental business.
In particular, as the couple made huge profits and some residents complained that “the couple’s attitude was arrogant,” North Korean authorities arrested the couple in early August, conducted a joint interrogation based on these complaints, and sentenced them to death in early September. Twenty people associated with the couple were deported or re-educated.
The authorities charged the couple with ‘violation of reactionary ideology and cultural rejection laws.’ Additionally, additional charges were raised of illegally moving foreign currency and disseminating anti-national messages in connection with an external organization.
The execution was reported to have been carried out in an outdoor location where about 200 residents gathered. “Hundreds of residents gathered as orders were given that all managers, including market operators and street stall operators, must attend,” the source said. “Some parents brought their children because they had no place to leave them, and even middle school students who were simply passing by on the street witnessed the execution.”
The authorities reportedly explained this as “an example for preventing chaos in the economic order and educating the public.”
https://n.news.naver.com/article/021/0002751873