Korea's national security law under int'l scrutiny

WASHINGTON (Yonhap) -- Amnesty International, a leading global human rights group, is preparing to release a special report on South Korea's National Security Law next month, an informed source here said Sunday.

The move comes as presidential candidates from the country's conservative and liberal camps are in a tight race ahead of the Dec. 19 polls.

"Amnesty International plans to publish the report in mid-November," the source told Yonhap News Agency, requesting anonymity.

The draconian National Security Law has long been politically controversial in a country largely credited with democratization coupled with fast economic growth.

Conservatives claim the law is necessary to maintain public order amid North Korea's efforts to spread its communism to the South.

Liberals say the law is so outdated and often used as a tool to oppress dissidents and limit freedom of expression.

South Korea is internationally recognized as a free democratic society, but the international community has raised concern over maintaining the National Security Law and death penalty, and punishing those who object to the mandatory military service due to religious beliefs.

Last week, the U.N. Human Rights Council advised South Korea to address the issues in the Universal Periodic Review, a joint assessment of the human rights records of U.N. member states.

Amnesty International has described the National Security Law as "one of the most important human rights issues in South Korea."

It is used "arbitrarily to curtail the rights to freedom of expression and association, providing long sentences or the death penalty for loosely defined 'anti-state' activities," the London-based organization said earlier.