Following Tuesday’s court ruling that police acted lawfully in stopping an activist from sending anti-Pyongyang leaflets across the border, the Seoul government seems to be showing signs of a change in its position.
Unification Minister Ryoo Kihl-jae told a National Assembly meeting Thursday that the government’s position remained unchanged but it would take steps if needed to ensure the people’s safety. Ministry spokesman Lim Byeong-cheol also indicated that the government could take necessary measures to ``protect people’s lives and properties’’ although freedom of expression was protected under the Constitution.
This is a welcome development, given that the government has stubbornly claimed that it’s impossible to restrict activists’ launch of the flyers as it would violate citizens’ freedom of expression.
Regardless of the controversy over the effect of the anti-North Korea leaflets, it’s true this issue has emerged as a serious stumbling block to the resumption of inter-Korean dialogue.
On Wednesday, the isolationist regime in Pyongyang slammed Seoul after a group of North Korean defectors launched two balloons carrying 600,000 leaflets from the South. The North’s state-run Korean Central News Agency said in a commentary, ``The South Korean government should decide whether to push inter-Korean relations into an abyss by ignoring the activists or show genuine efforts for talks.’’
In fact, the anti-Pyongyang leaflets seem to have lost their intent of providing North Koreans with outside information and opening their eyes to the dire state of the reclusive state; instead the launches have degenerated into a one-time show. The issue has already become a hot potato because it could derail inter-Korean dialogue at a time when the two Koreas are poised to resume talks. This is all the more important, given that their high-level talks ruptured in October because of the propaganda leaflet campaign.
The government has ample reasons to determine its position on this issue quickly.
On Tuesday, the Uijeongbu District Court ruled against a 58-year-old defector who sent leaflets via balloons from Cheorwon, Gangwon Province, in October, saying the police acted lawfully to stop him from doing so. ``By launching leaflets to the North, South Korean people’s lives will face a clear and present danger. The police can stop him to prevent the danger,’’ Judge Kim Ju-wan said.
In another development, the legislature’s foreign affairs and unification committee adopted a resolution Thursday urging the government to take necessary steps to protect its citizens from any harm caused by the leaflet launches.
Given this, it’s critical to prevent the leaflet issue from hampering inter-Korean talks again. The two Koreas in this regard need to act resolutely and responsibly.
The government should get rid of its passive attitude and do what it can to persuade activists to stop the campaign. The police could also block their access to border areas by applying relevant laws aimed at protecting the lives of residents. There should be stringent measures that can halt leaflet scattering publicly.
North Korea, for its part, needs to understand the South’s principled position on freedom of expression and stop using the leaflet issue as an excuse for avoiding inter-Korean dialogue.