Song Young-gil Criticizes Leaflet Ban Law, Claims "South Korea Guarantees More Freedom of Expression Than the US" in US Media Op-Ed

"If Concerned About North Korean Human Rights, Helping UNICEF Is More Effective" Rebuttal Toward the US

Song Young-gil, chairman of the Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee of the Democratic Party of Korea, is speaking at the plenary meeting of the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee on the morning of July 7.
/Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Juhee] Song Young-gil, chairman of the National Assembly Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee and member of the Democratic Party of Korea, rebutted criticisms from the U.S. Congress regarding the 'Anti-North Korean Leaflet Act (Amendment to the Inter-Korean Relations Development Act)' through a contribution to a local media outlet on the 21st.

In an article titled "Regarding the Recently Passed Amendment to the Inter-Korean Relations Development Act" contributed to the North Korea-specialized media '38 North' on the same day, Representative Song dismissed related criticisms by stating, "Freedom of expression in the Republic of Korea is guaranteed more perfectly than in the United States."

Earlier, the National Assembly passed the Anti-North Korean Leaflet Act on the 14th. This bill stipulates that anyone who engages in leaflet distribution near the Military Demarcation Line or broadcasts loudspeaker messages to North Korea in violation of inter-Korean agreements may face imprisonment of up to three years or a fine of up to 30 million won.

However, the international community, including the United States, has raised concerns that the Anti-North Korean Leaflet Act could restrict freedom of expression and has called for a review of the law, criticizing the South Korean government.

In response, Representative Song stated, "This bill does not prohibit all leaflet distribution activities; it only bans them when such acts pose harm or serious danger to the life and body of our citizens," and rebutted, "Contrary to concerns raised by the U.S. Congress or human rights organizations, acts conducted by third countries, foreign civic groups, or leaflet distribution near the Military Demarcation Line are not subject to this law unless they cause harm or serious danger to our citizens' life and body."

He continued, "We also inserted a provision that this law does not apply if the inter-Korean agreement is nullified due to North Korea's violation," explaining, "In effect, only politically provocative events that openly disclose the time and place of leaflet distribution to the media and deliberately provoke the North are controlled."

He added, "(In South Korea) criticism of the North Korean Kim Jong-un regime, burning effigies of Kim Jong-un, as well as protests criticizing or calling for the overthrow of President Moon Jae-in, including making, beating, and even burning effigies of the president, are all allowed as freedom of expression."

On the afternoon of the 14th, the partial amendment to the Act on the Development of Inter-Korean Relations, which prohibits sending leaflets to North Korea, was passed in the National Assembly plenary session. Photo by Yonhap News

Representative Song pointed out, "Leaflets shouting for the overthrow of the Kim Jong-un regime near the Demilitarized Zone, leaflets with photos of Kim Jong-un being burned, or composite photos of Kim Jong-un's wife Ri Sol-ju as a scantily clad woman are essentially psychological warfare and a method of conducting war," adding, "The Korean Peninsula is in a legal state of war, and it is difficult to persuade the North to give up its nuclear weapons while allowing such psychological warfare to continue."

He further stated, "The core content of the inter-Korean agreement is mutual prohibition of defamation and mutual recognition of each other's systems," and said, "The North does not distribute leaflets to the South, so it is difficult to demand that the North keep the agreement while we unilaterally allow it."

He explained, "The prohibition of leaflet distribution to North Korea is to prevent mutual defamation or insults as specified in the July 4th North-South Joint Declaration signed by the conservative Park Chung-hee government in 1972 and the Basic Agreement on North-South Relations agreed upon by the Roh Tae-woo government in 1991," adding, "The Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye administrations also banned leaflet distribution."

Representative Song said, "The balloon launches near the Military Demarcation Line, which have no real effect, can be evaluated as military psychological warfare aimed at overthrowing the North Korean regime rather than actual improvement of North Korean human rights," and warned, "Allowing leaflet distribution will cause the North to become an even more closed society and further isolate itself from the international community."

In conclusion, he added, "If they are truly human rights organizations concerned about North Korean human rights, I believe it would be much more effective to help North Korean residents suffering from tuberculosis and malnutrition through international organizations such as the World Food Programme (WFP) and UNICEF."

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