Opposition Party Criticizes Blue House's Rebuttal to UN's Criticism of 'Anti-North Korea Leaflet Law': "Is This How an Advanced Country Behaves?"

Hwang Bo-seung-hee, Chief Spokesperson of the People Power Party

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jun-yi] The People Power Party criticized the government’s rebuttal to the UN’s concerns that the 'Law Prohibiting Anti-North Korea Leaflets' (Amendment to the Act on the Development of Inter-Korean Relations) infringes on freedom of expression and could lead to excessive punishment, saying, "Is this what you call an 'advanced country'?"

Hwang Bo-seung-hee, the senior spokesperson for the People Power Party, stated in a commentary on the 11th, "The government responded with sophistry, claiming that it only minimally restricts the means of expression and does not limit the essential content related to freedom of expression," adding, "At this level, it is not an 'explanation' but rather a wordplay that is akin to covering one’s eyes and pretending not to see when addressing the international community."

Earlier, in April, Thomas Ojea Quintana, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in North Korea, recommended a review of the law, saying that the South Korean government’s explanation regarding the Law Prohibiting Anti-North Korea Leaflets was insufficient during a media interview.

According to the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) website on the 10th, the government sent a three-page A4 letter on the 8th to the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in North Korea, rebutting that the law is "the result of multifaceted efforts by the legislative, judicial, executive branches, and civil society to protect and guarantee the rights of residents in border areas directly affected by military tensions between the two Koreas."

Regarding concerns about excessive punishment, the government stated, "Only minimal restrictions are imposed to ensure the safety of residents in border areas, and it restricts the 'means' of expression minimally, not the essential 'content' related to freedom of expression."

Senior spokesperson Hwang criticized the process of passing the law, saying, "The Moon Jae-in administration consistently ignored international concerns about human rights violations with irrelevant answers and denial. Despite controversies over constitutional freedom of expression last year, it forcibly pushed through the amendment, passing the Law Prohibiting Anti-North Korea Leaflets, which is nothing less than the 'Kim Yo-jong’s command law,' in a rushed manner."

He added, "Continuing to ignore North Korean human rights issues and constantly worrying about not upsetting the North Korean regime, thereby earning the stigma of being a 'human rights backward country,' what use is the hollow claim of 'entering the ranks of advanced countries'?"

Senior spokesperson Hwang suggested, "Before the government boasts that our country has joined the ranks of advanced countries, it should stop intimidating the public and infringing on freedom of expression and show a responsible attitude toward North Korean human rights issues."

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