By Kim Heung-sook
Freelance Columnist
The government is working impressively, turning the ginkgo-lined streets in the heart of the capital into a plaza of fountains and nominating high-class tax evaders for cabinet posts, yet the historical description of ``Seoul 2009" will be terse: freedom of expression at stake.
The National Intelligence Service (NIS) filed a defamation suit last week for 200 million won in damages against Park Won-soon, executive director of the Hope Institute, a private think tank, for alleging that NIS was pressuring corporations not to financially support civic groups and standing behind subsidy cuts for such groups' public interest projects. Claiming Park defamed the ``state," NIS made the ``state" the plaintiff.
``As the nation is aware, I have been doing charity movements through the Beautiful Foundation and Beautiful Stores, and carrying out projects to promote hope and governance of our society. I don't know why they are doing this," Park said during an interview with the Peace Broadcasting System on Wednesday.
For Koreans, Park is the icon of civic activism. He founded the People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy (PSPD) in 1994 to reform politics through grassroots efforts. In 2000, he launched the Beautiful Foundation to narrow the gap between the haves and have-nots through citizens' voluntary sharing of wealth. In 2005, he opened the Hope Institute to work out policy alternatives for a better Korea. He received the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Public Service in 2006 for ``his principled activism fostering social justice, fair business practices, clean government and a generous spirit in South Korea's young democracy."
Some observers say that the government has filed the suit to stop Park from becoming a new leader of the opposition camp, to which the self-appointed "social designer" said, ``I never intended to become an opposition political leader. Perhaps the government wants to raise me up into one." Park said many of his fellow lawyers had decided to form a group and fight with the NIS. ``I only said that such (pressuring) practices were wrong. If what I did constitutes defamation of the state, hundreds of thousands of citizens may face the same charges daily."
Representatives of 177 non-governmental organizations across the country declared a virtual war on the government in a joint news conference in Seoul on Tuesday. If the government didn't withdraw the suit against Park, they would jointly counter the government's persecution of critics, they said. ``The suit is a public warning that even the most prominent civic activist can be the target of a huge damage suit in case he criticizes the government."
Kim Jong-nam, secretary-general of the Korean Federation for Environmental Movement (KFEM), said Park was the second civic leader targeted by governmental harassment, reminding that the prosecution tried to put then KFEM representative Choi Yul behind bars twice last year but failed due to lack of evidence.
In January, Park Dae-sung, alias ``Minerva," was arrested on charges of undermining the financial markets by spreading false information on the Internet, triggering worries about deteriorating freedom of expression. He was acquitted in April. He had criticized the government's economic policies and measures on the Internet through his popular columns.
Whether the government is troubling Park Won-soon over the possibility of him becoming an opposition leader or to intimidate critics, its endeavor will only backfire. This is not the 1970s when Park was ousted from the state-run Seoul National University and incarcerated for criticizing the government.
A ``Delete My Name" campaign is under way on the Web, with participants calling on the NIS to delete their names as components of ``the state" accusing Park. Government Legislation Minister Lee Seog-yeon, a lawyer, said the suit was ``not appropriate," because ``it is fairly skeptical if the state is a subject that feels honor." The Korean Bar Association has expressed ``serious concern" about the suit, justly describing Park as a civic activist and human rights lawyer who is truly trusted and respected by the people.
Park is well-known for his trademark smile and optimism. ``Hope does not fall from the sky. We create hope ourselves," he once said. I hope the latest developments won't dampen his spirits, for hope is something we need most now.