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| Members of Fighters for a Free North Korea, an organization of North Korea defectors, fly leaflets to the North in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, in this 2016 photo. Yonhap |
By Nam Hyun-woo
The U.S. Department of State released a human rights report Tuesday (local time) slamming South Korea's anti-North Korea leaflet ban as a significant violation of human rights and freedom of expression.
The report also listed scandals involving ruling bloc figures as examples of corruption that have delivered a hefty blow to the ethical reputation of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) and the Moon Jae-in administration, mentioning sexual harassment allegations raised against former Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon, the influence-peddling scandals of former Justice Minister Cho Kuk, and corruption allegations involving Rep. Yoon Mee-hyang of the DPK.
According to the report, "2020 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices," major human rights issues involving South Korea include "restrictions on freedom of expression, including criminalizing the sending of leaflets and other materials into North Korea; the existence of criminal libel laws; corruption; and laws criminalizing consensual same-sex sexual conduct between adults in the military."
Regarding freedom of expression, the report picked a revision to the Development of Inter-Korean Relations Act, which bans sending anti-Pyongyang leaflets and other material across the inter-Korean border, as a major case. The revision was passed at the National Assembly in December and took effect Tuesday. It has been widely believed as the Moon administration's efforts to engage with the North, but the government said it was aimed at protecting residents in border regions as the North often reacted with attempts to shoot down the balloons carrying propaganda leaflets.
The report cited former United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's previous comment calling for the South Korean government to rectify human rights concerns raised by the revision, as well as criticism from human rights groups and opposition political leaders that the revision infringed on freedom of speech. It also mentioned that the ruling party and the Moon administration's rationale that the right to freedom of expression was not absolute and must be balanced against national security concerns.
The report said the country's law guarantees freedom of speech and the government has generally respected this, but its "interpretation and implementation of the National Security Law limited freedom of speech and expression."
In response to the report, an official at the Ministry of Unification said the government was "aware of the importance of the influx of information into the North and the North Korean people's right to know" but "it was inappropriate if those activities are put into practice while infringing on the rights of residents in border areas."
The official added that the government will cooperate with non-governmental organizations in and outside Korea to let North Korean people get more precise information about the outside world more effectively.
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| Seo Hye-jin, right, a lawyer representing former Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon's secretary, speaks during a press conference in Seoul, March 17. The secretary had alleged Park sexually harassed her. Joint Press Corps |
The report also mentioned former Seoul Mayor Park's suicide and former Busan Mayor Oh Keo-don's resignation, saying the cases show "sexual harassment was a significant social problem."
Park took his own life July 9 last year, a day after his former secretary filed a complaint with the police alleging he had sexually harassed her by touching her without her consent and sending inappropriate pictures and messages. The report noted Park was known as "a champion of women's rights and was highly regarded" for his successful representation in 1993 of a victim in what is seen as the country's first sexual harassment case, adding that women's right advocates and the complainant's lawyer are demanding a complete investigation though the case was legally terminated due to Park's death.
The report also highlighted former Busan Mayor Oh's resignation in April last year after admitted to "unnecessary physical contact" with a female subordinate.
Also noted in the report were the scandals of former Justice Minister Cho and Rep. Yoon as cases showing corruption and lack of transparency in the government. Cho and his family were mentioned in the report for the second consecutive year on charges of receiving bribes, graft, abuse of power, and violating the ethics code for civil servants.
Rep. Yoon was cited for alleged fraud, embezzlement, dereliction of duty and other charges related to her inappropriate use of funds while working for the Korean Council for Justice and Remembrance for the Issue of Military Sexual Slavery by Japan.
The report referred to a study by Transparency International Korea saying the degree of corruption in public-sector economic activities had not improved.
Migrant bride issues in South Korea were also noted in the report. It said Korea's rural local governments began subsidizing private marriage brokers to connect single men to brides from Vietnam, Cambodia and the Philippines since the 1980s. Non-governmental organizations and the media have been reporting that the brides were particularly vulnerable to human rights abuses.
It cited a National Human Rights Commission of Korea survey showing that 42 percent of migrant brides have experienced domestic violence and 68 percent have experienced unwanted sexual advances, comparing this data to a 2019 government poll showing 29 percent of women from South Korea saying they were victims of domestic violence.
