The judge added that Mr Chun had committed his crimes from “a position where he had absolute influence”, reported the BBC.
As one of a group of high-profile Korean pastors who have made it their life’s mission to help North Koreans escape, Mr Chun has previously said his Christian aid organisation helped over 1,000 defectors reach Seoul since 1999.
Many of them have been female defectors forced by violent trafficking gangs into sex work after fleeing North Korea into China.
His work has been frequently profiled by the Korean and international news media.
Shortly before his arrest, the New York Times documented his failed attempt to rescue a North Korean cybersex worker and a software engineer who had become trapped in China, in a story illustrating how difficult defection has become due to pandemic border closures and increased state-of-the-art surveillance.
The job of aiding North Korean defectors in China has become “all but impossible,” Mr Chun said.
Despite an elaborate plan to rescue the North Koreans using a smuggling route that passed through Laos and Thailand, where they could apply for asylum in South Korea, both would-be escapees were caught and remain at risk of deportation back to the North.
In October, human rights groups reported Beijing had forcibly returned about 600 North Koreans, where they faced imprisonment, torture or even execution. Hundreds more are believed to be in danger of repatriation.
“I have been aiding North Koreans for 23 years,” Mr Chun said after his own rescue bid collapsed. “I have never felt this sad and helpless.”
His conviction has sent shock waves through groups who specialise in assisting North Koreans.
Eric Foley of Voice of the Martyrs Korea, a group advocating for freedom of religion, told NK News the case highlighted the danger of glorifying individuals and showed the need for transparency.
“Books, movies and social media tend to glorify the ‘lone rangers’ in North Korea work – guys working in the shadows to do seemingly miraculous rescues singlehandedly – but situations like this are a painful reminder that even the most important covert work requires real accountability relationships,” he said.
