I’m sure everyone has seen the dramatic surveillance video footage of the North Korean solider who deflected from North Korea in 2017 by making a run for the border with South Korea. If you haven’t, the video is below. It starts with a military truck making it’s way along a wooded road and then crossing a bridge.
At one point the vehicle gets stuck in a ditch and a lone solider appears out of the truck. He flees on foot as a number of North Korea, his fellow, soldiers chase after him. During the foot pursuit the soldiers take shots at him. The deflector is hit at least 5 times by rifle fire during the escape and ends up laying down close to a building for almost an hour until he is rescued by South Korean soldiers.
It is truly amazing footage, but who was the solider? He was identified as Oh Chong-song and he was a driver for the general staff of the North Korean military. In particular he drove around senior officers. This was considered a good job in North Korea and was a reward as he was the father of a North Korean major general.
His deflection was rather unique in the sense it was impulsive, he had no plans and literally just took an opportunity. For his efforts he was severally wounded and doctors estimated he had lost half his blood from the incident. He was in critical care in South Korea and had to have multiple surgeries to save his life. He ended up spending several months in hospital recuperating from the injuries.
Since his recovery he has been living in South Korea. He has given several interviews and discussed the conditions of life in North Korea as well has his thoughts on the leadership. It is unknown what his occupation is but believed to be working for the South Korean government. In January 2020, Chong-song was arrested in South Korea for drunk driving.
Smooth