Ha Tae-kyung: "Government bows to North Korea's threats, suppresses defector groups... damages national dignity"

Ministry of Unification to File Complaints Against Two Defector Organizations
"Oppression, a Global Object of Ridicule"

Ha Tae-kyung, member of the United Future Party./Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Suwan] Ha Tae-kyung, a member of the Future United Party, criticized the Ministry of Unification's actions against North Korean defector organizations, saying it "will lower South Korea's national dignity as a human rights country and earn the stigma of being a human rights-violating state."

On the 11th, Ha posted on his Facebook, stating, "The Ministry of Unification has decided to file charges against two North Korean defector organizations for violating the Inter-Korean Exchange and Cooperation Act and to revoke their corporate registration."

He continued, "The Democratic Party is even pushing for laws that would imprison people for sending leaflets," and pointed out, "Succumbing to North Korea's threats and suppressing defector organizations is a laughingstock worldwide."

He then sharply criticized, "The Moon Jae-in administration, which leaves the Justice and Memory Solidarity corporation?confirmed for accounting fraud?alone but cancels the registration of defector organizations, is not a government that protects human rights but one that protects corruption."

He added, "Guaranteeing North Korean residents' right to know and access to information is a universal human rights issue," emphasizing, "It is something our government, which aims for unification, should and has done."

Ha also said, "Defector organizations are doing what the government cannot due to inter-Korean relations," and questioned, "How can the international community understand a country that not only refuses support but forcibly applies the Inter-Korean Exchange and Cooperation Act to file charges?"

Finally, he urged, "This suppression will negatively affect relations with the U.S. and Europe, which value human rights," and called for "an end to the suppression of defector organizations that lowers South Korea's national dignity and weakens the ROK-U.S. alliance."

Meanwhile, on the previous day (the 10th), the Ministry of Unification held an emergency briefing, stating, "The act of distributing leaflets to North Korea violates the Inter-Korean Exchange and Cooperation Act and agreements between the South and North Korean leaders," and announced it would file charges against two defector organizations and cancel their corporate registrations.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.