50-Year-Old ‘Suspended’ For Praising North Korean Leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il After Opening an Online Cafe

“There was an intention to jeopardize the safety of South Korea and the order of liberal democracy.”

A man in his 50s, who created an online cafe praising North Korea and posted materials and articles unilaterally favoring North Korea and its military-first politics, has received a suspended sentence.

According to the legal sources on the 18th, the Ulsan District Court, Criminal Single Judge Court Division 6 (Judge Choi Hee-Dong), recently gave a 50-year-old defendant, who was indicted for violating the National Security Act (praise, incitement, etc.), to a six-month jail sentence suspended for one year.

The defendant was brought to trial on charges of establishing an online cafe sympathizing with North Korea on a portal site in January 2011 and posting a total of 26 documents or videos denying the liberal democracy of South Korea and beautifying North Korea’s military-first politics for two years.

The materials the defendant posted included content explicitly praising the activities of hereditary leaders Kim Il Sung, Kim Jong Il, and Kim Jong Un.

Also, when a cafe member posted an article titled “(Breaking News) Supreme Commander Kim Jong Il Passed Away in December 2011,” he commented, “I felt like the sky was falling when I heard the news while working. To think he passed away just short of witnessing the national reunification of our motherland… I wish my life, as worthless as weeds, could have been taken first…”

He didn’t stop there. He also posted multiple praises of North Korea while participating as a member of vehicle club websites and second-hand car trading websites.

During the trial, the defendant’s side argued that “the content of the posted materials or comments does not threaten the existence of the state or the basic order of liberal democracy,” claiming innocence.

However, the court ruled that the defendant had the intention to jeopardize the safety of South Korea and the order of free democracy by unilaterally and uncritically accepting and conveying North Korea’s claims, including praising North Korea’s Juche ideology, supporting military provocation, and denying the legitimacy of South Korea.

The court stated, “The crime is not light, and the defendant needs serious reflection,” but also noted, “However, there were no previous convictions for a similar crime, and he did not take any direct actions that could threaten the safety of South Korea beyond posting materials.”