Supreme Court: "Prohibited Expression Materials Must Threaten National Existence and Security to Be Punishable"

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] The Supreme Court has ruled that punishing the representative of the Busan-based youth unification group 'Jeolmeunbeot' (formerly Tongil Sidae Jeolmeunbeot) for possessing a booklet as an expression of pro-North Korean propaganda under the National Security Act was wrong. The court reasoned that the content of the material in question did not threaten the existence and safety of the state to the extent required to be classified as pro-North Korean propaganda.

On the 30th, the Supreme Court's 3rd Division (Presiding Justice Kim Jae-hyung) overturned the original sentence of 1 year and 6 months imprisonment with 2 years probation given to Mr. A, who was indicted for violating the National Security Act, and remanded the case to the Busan High Court.

Mr. A was indicted in 2013 on charges of joining a pro-North Korean organization, praising, encouraging, propagandizing, and sympathizing with North Korea, and possessing numerous pro-North Korean propaganda materials. He had served as the representative of 'Tongil Sidae Jeolmeunbeot,' founded in Busan after the June 15 North-South Joint Declaration in 2000.

In the first trial, the court judged Jeolmeunbeot to be a pro-North Korean organization and found Mr. A guilty of violating the National Security Act. Regarding the booklets Mr. A possessed, including 'Haengbokhan Tongil Iyagi' (Happy Unification Story), the court stated, "The content aligns with the pro-North Korean organization's claims, actively praising, encouraging, and propagandizing North Korea's stereotypical anti-imperialist, autonomous struggle, withdrawal of U.S. troops from South Korea, and abolition of the National Security Act," and thus classified them as pro-North Korean propaganda materials. The second trial upheld the guilty verdict of the first trial.

However, the Supreme Court stated that whether the booklets Mr. A possessed constitute pro-North Korean propaganda materials must be further examined. This is based on the judgment that possession of pro-North Korean propaganda materials under the National Security Act requires the intent to engage in pro-North Korean activities. While the Supreme Court found no major issues with the lower court's judgment, it concluded that the booklet 'Haengbokhan Tongil Iyagi,' recognized as pro-North Korean propaganda material among the materials Mr. A possessed, could not be seen as actively praising, encouraging, or propagandizing North Korea's activities.

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