Lee Hyo-sik is Finance Desk editor at The Korea Times. He manages finance-related stories on macroeconomics, banks, stocks, bonds, crypto etc. He is passionate about covering what's happening in Korea's financial industry and explaining it to both Korean and non-Korean readers. You can reach him at leehs@koreatimes.co.kr. Your insights and feedbacks are always appreciated.
Pro-NK sites, SNS accounts surging abroad
By Lee Hyo-sik
Websites and social networking service (SNS) accounts promoting North Korean propaganda have been mushrooming abroad over the past few years.
Meanwhile, a crackdown on the operators of pro-North Korean websites overseas remains elusive.
According to data submitted by the National Police Agency (NPA) to Rep. Shin Hak-yong of the main opposition Democratic Party Sunday, 58 pro-North Korean websites with servers in foreign countries have been detected since January 2007. Police have blocked access to 37 of the 58 sites.
On top of the websites, 141 Twitter and other SNS accounts posting messages and other material promoting the communist nation’s political and social systems have sprouted the past few years. All the pro-North Korean SNS accounts have been blocked.
Those involved in such activities are subject to prosecution under the country’s National Security Law.
Police here face difficulty in prosecuting such website operators and SNS users because their servers and accounts were opened abroad.
``If someone here uploads pro-North Korean information in cyberspace, they will certainly be apprehended and punished in accordance with the relevant laws,’’ an NPA official said. ``But if websites are set up in foreign countries and those operating them stay abroad, it is extremely difficult to charge them because domestic laws do not apply.’’
Shin said police and the National Intelligence Service are ill-equipped to deal with the surging number of pro-North Korean websites and SNS accounts established in foreign countries.
``Law enforcement authorities here are unable to figure out the exact number of pro-North Korean websites and SNS accounts whose servers are set up overseas. Blocking access to such sites and accounts by South Koreans is only a temporary solution,’’ the lawmaker said. ``Police should boost cooperation with their overseas counterparts and come up with a comprehensive set of measures to get to the bottom of the case.’’
Nine pro-North Korean websites set up overseas were uncovered in both 2007 and 2008. The figure rose to 10 in 2009 and 16 in 2010. As of September this year, 14 websites have been found. A total of 26 websites were based in the United States, followed by eight in China, seven in Japan and five in North Korea.