Lee Sung-ju

Lee Sung-ju is a North Korean defector, human rights advocate, and author.

Survival and gang life During the Arduous March (the North Korean famine of the late 1990s), Lee's parents separately disappeared in search of food.

Defection and education In 2002, Lee was located by a broker sent by his father, who had successfully defected to South Korea. He later moved to the United Kingdom, where he became the first North Korean defector to study at the University of Warwick and pursued a PhD focused on Korean reunification.

Lee continues his advocacy work and maintains a prominent role in international discourse regarding the North Korean regime.

Advocacy Lee is a consultant for the Citizens' Alliance for North Korean Human Rights (NKHR) and a frequent international speaker on North Korean political and social issues.

Awards and honours In 2018, he received the Democracy Award from the National Endowment for Democracy (NED).