Law "Anti-North Korea Leaflets, Publicizing North Korean Human Rights"... Ministry of Unification May Change Interpretation Guidelines

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The Supreme Court ruling that deemed the Ministry of Unification's cancellation of the corporate license of the group that distributed leaflets to North Korea unlawful has raised attention on whether there will be changes to the Ministry of Unification's guidelines.

According to diplomatic and security authorities on the 29th, the Supreme Court overturned the lower court's ruling, which had dismissed the appeal by the Free North Korea Movement Alliance against the Minister of Unification's cancellation of its nonprofit corporation establishment license, and remanded the case to the Seoul High Court.

Leaflets Sent to North Korea

The incident dates back to the spring of 2020. Park Sang-hak, leader of the Free North Korea Movement Alliance and a defector from North Korea, distributed leaflets criticizing the North Korean leadership in the border area from April to June of that year. At the time, Kim Yo-jong, deputy director of the North Korean Workers' Party, reacted strongly, mentioning the "blowing up of the inter-Korean joint liaison office" among other things. Subsequently, the Ministry of Unification notified the group of the cancellation of its corporate license, and this incident led the Democratic Party of Korea to forcibly pass an amendment to the Inter-Korean Relations Development Act, commonly called the "Anti-North Korea Leaflet Act." Notably, when Kim Yo-jong protested against the leaflets, she threatened with the implication of "making a law to stop it," and since the Moon Jae-in administration announced it was "preparing legislation," the law was also referred to as the "Kim Yo-jong directive law."

In the first and second trials, the courts ruled against Park's claim that the Ministry of Unification's cancellation of the corporate license was unjust, stating that it constituted an act harmful to the public interest. However, the Supreme Court reversed this judgment, stating that the Free North Korea Movement Alliance's leaflet distribution cannot be unilaterally deemed an act harmful to the public interest.

The court stated, "The act of distributing leaflets is part of political and social activities aimed at informing North Korean residents, who have restricted access to information, about the reality of the North Korean regime," and added, "It is difficult to deny that it plays a positive role in raising domestic and international awareness of North Korea's human rights issues." In particular, the court ruled that the Free North Korea Movement Alliance's leaflet distribution does not violate the (newly enacted) Anti-North Korea Leaflet Act. According to the law, criminal penalties apply only when leaflet distribution causes harm or serious risk to the life or body of citizens, and simple leaflet distribution to the North does not fall under this category.

Lee Heon, the group's legal representative, welcomed the ruling, saying, "This reflects the critical views of domestic and international society on the Moon Jae-in administration's blind and submissive North Korea policy," and added, "The cancellation of the license under Kim Yo-jong's directive is an unconstitutional act violating constitutional freedom of expression." He further demanded, "The Ministry of Unification should revoke the cancellation of the corporate license in accordance with the court's ruling."

Minister of Unification Kwon Young-se

Attention is now focused on whether this will influence revisions to the Ministry of Unification's interpretation guidelines on the Anti-North Korea Leaflet Act. Under current law, areas where loudspeakers and visual materials aimed at North Korea are prohibited are limited to the "Military Demarcation Line area," but during the Moon Jae-in administration, the Ministry of Unification issued interpretation guidelines that somewhat broadly defined the prohibited zone for leaflet distribution as "south of the Military Demarcation Line."

Professor Je Seong-ho of Chung-Ang University Law School, a former human rights ambassador, said, "What the Ministry of Unification needs to do is revise the interpretation guidelines of the Anti-North Korea Leaflet Act that restrict freedom of expression." In January of this year, nine human rights organizations, including the Transitional Justice Working Group (TJWG) in Korea, the U.S. Committee for Human Rights in North Korea (HRNK), Bridge UK, and Han Voice Canada, sent a letter to President Yoon Suk-yeol requesting revision of the interpretation guidelines.

An official from the Ministry of Unification explained, "The government respects the Supreme Court's ruling," and added, "We are reviewing the relevant matters necessary for future measures." Regarding the "Anti-North Korea Leaflet Act interpretation guidelines," the official stated, "The government will comprehensively review related matters in accordance with its position to respect the Supreme Court's ruling."

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