Fighting for a Voice Against the 'National Security Law'

“Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.” – Article 19, Universal Declaration of Human Rights

South Korea, famed for developing the world’s fastest broadband internet connection, made large strides in the early 1950’s to promote freedom of speech as an inherent aspect of its new democracy. However, especially in the 21^st century, the press situation has gradually come to reflect Korea’s internal turmoil as it struggles to avoid collision with the threats of North Korea’s capricious monarchy. In 1948, the passage of the National Security Law (NSL) attempted to protect South Korean government from Communist interference by banning all activity that promoted the spread of North Korea propaganda or criticized the South Korean government. If such a law had not been passed through the National Congress, it is likely that South Korean society would be under constant attack by the writings of Northern spies and left-wing enthusiasts. However, the relative peace of today’s democracy comes at the cost of free communication and “genuine exchange of ideas” between the people of North and South Korea. According to analysts including Paul Roderick Gregory, the Korean people hold the key to overthrowing the Northern regime and peacefully integrating the two adverse countries. With the threat of censure under the National Security Law though, bloggers, journalists, and the common people (over 84% of Koreans have access to 3G and wireless internet) are prevented from interacting sincerely with their Northern counterparts. Without the incentive for genuine communication, Koreans lack empathy for one another, and are trapped in a never-ending cycle of separation, misunderstanding, and ever-deepening schism. Current-president Park Geun-hye strongly advocates a unified and peaceful Korea; however, as long as the NSL continues to be enforced, I am not alone in my concerns as to the candor behind her declarations. Under the National Intelligence Service (NIS), the National Security Law has made a gimcrack of the accepted code on freedom of speech. As expressed by UN Watch Director Hillel C. Neuer, “The lifeblood of democracy is… the freedom of press.” The law’s broad application to all publications “praising, encouraging, or propagandizing” on behalf of North Korea has meant that it has been used to justify nearly all forms of media censorship. Yet the consequences of this act reach much farther than social media and online news sites.

Last fall, a member of the far-left United Progressive Party (UPP) was indicted for supporting “an insurrection against the South in the case of North Korean invasion.” The National Intelligence Service has arrested the lawmaker on scant evidence, and taken moves to disband his party, which was originally the third most-powerful body of the National Congress. It’s worth mentioning that the NIS’s actions were greeted by ambivalent responses; lawmakers in the majority and far-right approved and continue to support the security law as a necessary precaution against the dispersion of Communist ideals. However, this enforcing body may also be partaking in the very actions that the NSL was meant to prevent. According to prosecutions last June, the intelligence service planted numerous posts through social media denouncing the president’s far-left opponent as a North Korean sympathizer. I daresay that unless decisive actions are taken to limit the interpretation of the National Security Law, its abuse of human freedoms will cause the Korean political and social sectors to crumble from the inside.