By Yun Suh-young
A soldier’s right to freedom of expression is now the subject of intense debate, after an army captain was indicted for denouncing President Lee Myung-bak online.
Army headquarters said Sunday that the military’s prosecution indicted the 27-year-old captain, surnamed Lee and currently on active duty, on charges of contempt for his superior (President Lee). The prosecution said the soldier had posted comments about the President several times on Twitter since last December, referring to him as a “bastard.”
Ever since the soldier first posted a comment on Dec. 20 stating “Bastard Lee is making a frantic last-ditch effort to sell off Incheon Airport,” he has continued to post comments criticizing the President.
The comments were aimed at Lee’s involvement in a scandal involving BBK, a company in which Lee is alleged to have been involved with that came under scrutiny for manipulated stock prices, his policies on privatizing the high-speed railway KTX, and his attempt to buy a private house in Naegok-dong, southern Seoul, under the name of his son.
The army said the soldier came under investigation after a female college student reported him to the army’s defense security command. The two had a fierce debate on Twitter in March about the construction of a naval base on Jeju Island.
During the debate, Captain Lee revealed that he was a soldier on active service. Until then he had concealed his identity when posting comments on Twitter.
The soldier’s indictment sparked a fierce debate online on whether or not it was appropriate to indict him for making critical comments. Those critical about the indictment say it violates the soldier’s freedom of expression.
“Does this mean soldiers do not have the right to express whatever they feel or think? It means such postings shouldn’t even be re-tweeted. Are we back to the old days of dictatorship?” wrote one tweeter.
Another posted, “Just because the president is the head of the military doesn’t mean soldiers can’t criticize him when he’s done something wrong. It feels like I’m living in the age of ‘L’etat c’est moi.’” (A French expression meaning: ‘I am the state.’)
Others claimed that it was right to indict the soldier and that the measure was not at all excessive.
“Is it proper for an active-duty soldier to call the head of the state a bastard? Then all the previous presidents would be bastards too,” a blogger said.
Another blogger said, “Those who swear like that at the head of state should be charged with not only contempt but also indiscipline and disobedience of orders. A soldier follows the rules. That’s the spirit of the military. These days, people tend to ignore the discipline and hierarchy. But a rule is a rule.”
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