Lee So-yeon

President, New Korea Women’s Union

North Korea

A former sergeant of the North Korean army, Mrs. Lee defected to South Korea in 2008 on her second attempt. When her first attempt failed in 2006, she was forcibly returned to North Korea and impris- oned for a year for labour training. Today, Mrs. Lee is the head of the New Korea Women’s Union, an asso- ciation of female North Korean defectors engaged in human rights advocacy.