Charges of Violating National Security Law
Court Sentences to Imprisonment
A man in his 60s has been sentenced to prison for winning a competition with a self-written poem that praises the North Korean regime.
Image created with the AI image generation program ‘MS Bing Image Creator’ to help understand the article / MS Bing Image Creator
On the 27th, Yonhap News reported that the Seoul Central District Court, Criminal Division 3 (Judge Lee Jong-min), sentenced Mr. A (68, male), who was indicted on charges of violating the National Security Act (assembly, communication, and praise, etc.), to one year and two months in prison and one year of disqualification.
Mr. A previously participated in a competition on the North Korean propaganda website “Uriminzokkiri” in September 2016. The website, operated by North Korea’s Chosun Publishing House, is designated and classified as a harmful site and blocked in South Korea. However, it is known that Mr. A accessed it through a bypass tool. He is said to have posted his self-written poem on the readers’ submission section of the site and sent it to the site administrator via email.
“Uriminzokkiri” is a North Korean propaganda website. Image to help understand the article / Yonhap News-Uriminzokkiri homepage capture
In November of the same year, the poem written by Mr. A was selected as the winning work of the competition. The poem’s title was “The Path to Unification,” it contained content praising North Korean-style socialism. He envisaged a situation after unification under the socialist regime of North Korea, saying, “There is no need to wander in search of a rental house,” “There is no need to spend days in despair without a job,” “Many people do not have to take their own lives.” He also wrote, “The people in the north are already united for unification and moving forward, so let’s all unite for unification and move forward, people in the south.”
It was found that he also posted the winning work containing such content on domestic online sites.
In addition to this article, Mr. A was found to have posted several articles related to North Korea online.
In 2013, he left comments praising and promoting North Korean activities under an article about the North Korean military posted on a portal site. From 2014 to 2017, he reposted 72 expressions of treason on portal sites, blogs, etc., and stored them in his email box.
Mr. A was convicted and sentenced to 10 months in prison for the crime of praise and encouragement under the National Security Act.
The court ruled that, due to the defendant’s prolonged representation and glorification of North Korea’s position over an extended period during the repeat offender period, along with the production and distribution of a significant number of treasonous expressions that posed a threat to the existence and safety of the state and the free democratic basic order, severe punishment was deemed unavoidable.
However, the court explained the rationale behind the sentence, stating, “We took into account the defendant’s admission of all the crimes during the trial and the absence of violent behavior aimed at overthrowing or undermining the basic order beyond posting.”
Kim Jong-un, Chairman of the State Affairs Commission of North Korea, guided the Ryongseong Machine Joint Venture in Hamhung, South Hamgyong Province, on the 26th. Photo reported by the Korean Central News Agency on the 27th. Only available in Korea. / Pyongyang Korean Central News Agency=Yonhap News
According to Article 7 of the National Security Act, a person who praises, encourages, or propagates the activities of an anti-state organization or its members or a person who receives their orders, sympathizes with them or propagates or instigates state rebellion can be sentenced to imprisonment for up to 7 years.
A person who contacts a member of an anti-state organization or receives their orders through a meeting, communication, or other means can also be sentenced to imprisonment for up to 10 years.
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