National Security Act (South Korea)

National Security Law
Hangul	국가 보안법
Hanja	國家保安法
Revised Romanization	Gukga Boanbeop
McCune–Reischauer	Kukka Poanpŏp

The National Security Law is a South Korean law which has the avowed purpose "to restrict anti-state acts that endanger national security and to protect [the] nation's safety and its people's life and freedom."

Based on the Law for Maintenance of the Public Security of the Japanese Korea, it was passed in 1948, and made illegal both communism and recognition of North Korea as a political entity. It has been reformed and strengthened with the passing of the times. The Anti-communism Law was merged into the National Security Law during the 1980s.

This law is acknowledged by some South Korean politicians and activists as a symbol of the anti-communism of South Korea's First Republic and its dictatorial period of 1964-1987. In 2004, legislators of the Uri Party, then with a majority, made a gesture as to annul the law, but failed owing to Grand National Party opposition. Some poll results in 2004-2005 from the media cartel called Chojoongdong, which is biased toward the South Korean legal fields and conservative political parties, allegedly show that more than half of the Korean people are against the abolition of the act, and the dispute continues.^[1][2]

This law has been regularly blamed for restricting freedom of speech:

• Citizens may not join an organization with aims to overthrow the government;
• Citizens may not create, distribute or possess materials that promote anti-government ideas;
• Citizens may not neglect to report others who violate this law.

This law encourages McCarthyism in the military since the first half of 2011.^[3]

Contents 1 Administration 2 Notable cases 2.1 2010 2.2 2011 3 Apologies 4 Criticism 5 See also 6 References 7 External links

Administration

The easiest to violate are Article 7 Clause 3 (Creation, Importation, Copying, Possession, Transportation, Distribution, and Selling of "Enemy's Expressions") and Article 10. (Knowingly not reporting violations to some articles). The South Korean High Court has a ruling history since 1978 that has classified 1,220 books and print material as "Enemy's Expressions" by force of precedence.

Two state-established Research Institutes decide what books and print material meet the criteria of "Enemy's Expressions": the Democratic Ideology Institute, established in 1997 and under the direct orders of the Chief Prosecutor, and the Public Safety Affairs Institute of the Korea National Police University.

However, since early 1990s, the Public Prosecutor's Office has chosen not to bring any citizens (or publishers) to the courts for what's deemed by common sense as not risky. Courts still invoke the law when increasing fines or years in prison for political charges against what the South Korean State deems subversive groups.

Japanese lawyer, Suga Matsuyuki, called for the Japanese government to recognize its involvements of North Korean spies in Japan.^[4]

Notable cases

For instance, in 1998, Mr. Ha Young-Joon (하영준), a graduate student at Hanyang University formerly active with the International Socialists movement, was tried and sentenced to 8 months in prison for having summarized and made available online Chris Harman and Alex Callinicos's main writings on South Korea's national BBS network, in violation of NSA Article 7 Clauses 1 and 5.

In 2002, Mr. Lee, a new recruit in the South Korean army, was sentenced to 2 years in prison for having said "I think Korean separation is not North Korean but American fault" to fellow soldiers. The Military Prosecutor's Office could not charge him for what he had said, but it searched Mr. Lee's civilian house and found various books, and charged him in violation of the NSA Article 7 Clauses 1 and 5.

Other well-known uses of the National Security act include the 1999 banning of students' union Hanchongryun and the 2003 spy case against Song Du-yul, a Korean living in Germany. The severest penalty that could be given according to NSL is the death penalty. The best-known example of death penalty is People's Revolutionary Party Incident.

2010

On November 9, a Hanchongryun staff was arrested for giving information pertaining to student activities to the North Korean government.^[5]

2011

On March 21, 3 university students in Seoul were arrested under the National Security Act for making an academic club that critically questions capitalism.^[6] Later 2 of the three students were released on the 23rd.^[7]

On June 24, the Gyeongnam National Police Agency imprisoned the administrator who had run a refugee pro-North internet group, Cyber Headquarter of National Liberation Sub-Chapter (사이버 민족방위사령부 별관).^[8]

On July 10, the prosecutors investigated a researcher in Korea Higher Education Research Institution (한국대학교육연구소) under the National Security Act for allegedly connecting with the North Korean government.^[9]

On July 29, prosecutors arrested the ringleader of an pro-North underground political party called the Wangjaesan Party.^[10] On August 25, 2011, the SPO presented to the public about their alleged plan of destorying public buildings and uniting the South Korean left-wing political parties.^[11] One of the electronic systems made by the Wangjaesan Party had almost been installed in an apartment complex of a relative of Lee Myung-bak.^[12]

On August 1, the prosecutors of the military division prosecuted a Korean history instructor of the Korea Naval Academy for searching for works of Kim Jong-il and Kim Il-sung on the internet and possessing works such as of Marx and Lenin.^[13]

On August 4, the Gyeonggi-do Provincial Police Agency indicted, Mr. Hwang, the former administrator of Cyber Headquarter of National Liberation (사이버민족방위사령부) in court for saying "long live Kim Jong-il" in court.^[14]

On November 10, the Seoul District Public Prosecutor´s Office Public Security Directorate #2 indicted four executives of the 6.15 Youth and Student Solidarity for propagating pro-North propagandas.^[15]

On November 11, the National Police Agency indicted a former military officer who had run an pro-North Korean internet group.^[16]

Apologies

• On June 12, 2011, the South Korean government officially apologized to the family members of South Korean citizen, Kim Bok-jae who was wrongfully accused of being a spy for North Korea under the NSA.^[17]
• On August 15, 2011, the South Korean government officially apologized to a 54 year old South Korean citizen, Ku Myeong-u (구명우) who was wrongfully accused of being a spy for North Korea by working in a Chongryon-affiliated company in Japan.^[18]
• On September 23, 2011, the Seoul High Court officially apologized to Zainichi Koreans Kim Jeong-sa (김정사) and Yoo Seong-sam (유성삼) who were wrongfully accused as spies during the Zainichi Korean Spy Incident.^[19]
• On October 10, 2011, the Changweon Regional Court formally posthumously apologized to the now-deceased Lee Sang-cheol (이상철) who was a South Korean fisherman who was kidnapped by North Koreans for one year but was wrongfully accused as a spy by the regional prosecutors.^[20][21]
• On November 10, 2011, the Supreme Court made a decision that the South Korean government should compensate the 33 individuals who were involved in the Osonghoe Incident (오송회 사건) in 1982.^[22]

Criticism

• The Journalists Association of Korea made an official statement in 2007 that the National Security Act keeps maintaining South Korea as "a third world country on human rights".^[23]
• Rhyu Si-min of the People's Participation Party was interviewed by the Pyeonghwa Bangsong (평화방송) radio and criticized the existence of the NSA as "a 60 year old political tool" of public oppression that is used by the Lee Myung-bak government.^[24]
• One of the 33 victims of the Osonghoe Incident, Chae Gyu-gu (채규구), said that "the National Security Act must disappear" in order to stop accusing innocent South Korean citizens in the future.^[22]
• Louisa Lim of the NPR had posted criticism towards the National Security Act and its broadened usages under the President Lee Myung-bak.^[25][26]

See also

• List of Korea-related topics
• Government of South Korea
• Politics of South Korea
• Division of Korea
• National Intelligence Service (South Korea)

References

• Wikisource:ko:국가보안법 National Security Act, full text Korean language

External links

• Full text of the National Security Law in English (an unofficial translation)
• McCarthyism, South Korea-style