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Shin Hae-chul |
South Korean conservative groups said Friday they will ask the prosecution to probe a singer for allegedly violating the National Security Law by praising North Korea's recent rocket launch, according to Yonhap News.
Shin Hae-chul, a famed rock singer, posted a controversial entry on his Web site on April 8 "congratulating" his "brethren" in Pyongyang for the successful launch.
The Right Korea and the Fighters for Free North Korea plan to file a petition against Shin for violating the National Security Law, which seeks to punish North Korea sympathizers.
"Shin congratulated the North on the success of its rocket launch and said he was happy with the North becoming a nuclear power," Bong Tae-hong, chairman of the Right Korea, was quoted as saying. "His remarks praise the North, which poses a substantial threat to South Korea's security and existence. This is a breach of the law."
The North fired off a long-range rocket on April 5 in what South Korea and its allies suspect was a test of a ballistic missile. The launch was unanimously condemned by the U.N. Security Council on Monday.
Shin is no stranger to controversy. He has argued for the legalization of marijuana in a country where possession of the illicit substance carries a five-year jail term. The singer also drew fire when he appeared in an ad for an after-school tutoring institution _ shortly after angrily criticizing the Korean education system for making such tutoring necessary.
"Maintaining nuclear capabilities is the only effective way for weak nations to resist stronger ones," Shin wrote. "I'm pleased with the fact that our brethren possess such independent defense capabilities."
The anti-communist law was adopted after the end of the Korean War in 1953, and has been criticized as anachronistic.
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