North Korea Leaflets: Moon Jae-in Government Declared Legal Yesterday, Illegal Today

Anti-North Korea Leaflets

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On the 10th, the government filed a complaint against defector organizations that have been conducting leaflet distribution activities toward North Korea and initiated procedures to revoke their corporate establishment permits.

The Ministry of Unification announced in a statement titled "Government Position on the Distribution of Leaflets and PET Bottles to North Korea" that "Today, the government decided to file charges against the Free North Korea Movement Alliance (Representative Park Sang-hak) and Keun Saem (Representative Park Jung-oh) for violating the Inter-Korean Exchange and Cooperation Act and to begin the process of revoking their corporate establishment permits."

The Ministry explained, "These two organizations violated the export approval regulations under the Inter-Korean Exchange and Cooperation Act through their leaflet and PET bottle distribution activities toward North Korea. By blatantly violating agreements between the South and North Korean leaders, they have heightened tensions between the two Koreas and endangered the lives and safety of residents in border areas, thereby infringing upon the public interest."

According to Article 13 of the Act on Inter-Korean Exchange and Cooperation, approval from the Minister of Unification is required for exporting goods to North Korea. A Ministry of Unification official told reporters, "The leaflet and PET bottle distribution activities conducted by these organizations are considered acts of export without approval under the Exchange and Cooperation Act." Unauthorized export of goods under this law can result in imprisonment for up to three years or a fine of up to 30 million won.

Additionally, these two organizations are registered as non-profit corporations under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Unification. Grounds for revoking the establishment permit of a non-profit corporation include ▲activities that are deemed to harm the public interest, ▲activities outside the purpose of establishment, and ▲actions violating permit conditions.

The Ministry official stated, "The Free North Korea Movement Alliance declared at the time of permit approval that it would inform North Korean residents of the realities within the scope that does not undermine the government's unification policy and contribute to peaceful unification, while Keun Saem stated it would assist North Korean defector youth. However, it was judged that the organizations' actual activities contradict their stated purposes."

North Korea strongly condemned the leaflet distribution by defectors' organizations and the South Korean government's response, while protest marches by young students took place across various regions, reported the Korean Central News Agency on the 9th.

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This is the first time the government has raised the issue of leaflet distribution to North Korea as "export of goods to North Korea without approval." Leaflet distribution to North Korea has occurred dozens of times in border areas both officially and unofficially during past administrations and even last year. Some suggest that the government’s recent intervention is a response to North Korea’s criticism of South Korea and its announcement of severing inter-Korean relations through a statement by Kim Yo-jong, First Deputy Director of the Workers' Party.

Regarding this change in stance, the Ministry of Unification explained that circumstances have changed. The Ministry official cited ▲the declaration by the South and North Korean leaders in the April 27 Panmunjom Declaration to cease hostile acts including leaflet distribution, ▲the Supreme Court’s 2016 ruling that "freedom of expression is not unlimited and can be restricted when there is a threat to public welfare or clear and present danger to local residents," ▲the diversification of leaflet materials beyond paper to include rice, PET bottles, portable storage devices (USBs), dollars, radios, etc., and ▲the possibility that leaflet materials were not disinfected amid the COVID-19 pandemic as factors that differ from the past.

Critics argue that acts which were not subject to prosecution or punishment in the past are now deemed illegal based on the government's interpretation, violating the principle of non-retroactivity.

In response, the Ministry official claimed, "Retroactivity applies when a law is created and applied to past acts. In this case, the law already exists, and the government is simply interpreting it differently, so it cannot be considered retroactive application."

The government also clarified that this complaint and corporate permit revocation serve as a warning message to organizations intending to distribute leaflets to North Korea in the future. The Ministry official said, "If the judicial process confirms the illegality of leaflet distribution, it will have the effect of making the distributing organizations aware of their illegal status." He added, "It also serves to inform these organizations that their future actions may be illegal and is expected to deter such activities."

On the 10th, police were deployed in Tongildongsan, Tanhyeon-myeon, Paju-si, Gyeonggi-do, in preparation for the sudden distribution of leaflets.
On the same day, the Ministry of Unification filed a complaint against a defector group that had been distributing leaflets to North Korea for violating the Inter-Korean Exchange and Cooperation Act and decided to revoke their corporate registration approval.

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Meanwhile, amid North Korea’s strong condemnation of leaflet distribution and its announcement of severing inter-Korean relations, defector organizations have announced plans to proceed with leaflet distribution later this month.

According to police and other sources on the 10th, the defector group Free North Korea Movement Alliance has announced plans to release one million leaflets toward North Korea on the 25th. It is reported that the group has already secured a large amount of hydrogen gas capable of launching 10 balloons.

On the 8th, members of Keun Saem and the Free North Korea Movement Alliance attempted to hold an event in Seokmo-ri, Samsan-myeon, Ganghwa-gun, to send PET bottles containing rice and masks into the sea toward North Korea, but the event was forcibly stopped by local residents.

Residents in the border area of Gimpo City issued a statement on the 6th declaring that "if acts provoking North Korea such as leaflet distribution occur in the border area, we will block them by all means and methods," and delivered it to the mayor.

Since Kim Yo-jong, First Deputy Director of the Workers' Party, issued a statement condemning leaflet distribution on the 4th, North Korea cut off all communication channels, including the hotline between the South and North Korean leaders, on the 9th.

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