Open Net Hosts ‘The Current Status of Freedom of Expression in the Republic of Korea’ Conference with Special Host David Kaye, the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression

Open Net will be hosting a conference with special host David Kaye, the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression on October 4 (Fri) 10:30 ~ 17:30 on the topic of ‘The Current Status of Freedom of Expression in the Republic of Korea’. The conference, partially funded by Uguisu Ribbon Campaign, will provide a forum of discussion amongst domestic and international experts on freedom of speech in Korea in relation to international trends.

The UN Special Rapporteur David Kaye and Professor K.S. Park will discuss South Korea’s special regulations on digital freedom of expression during the first session of the conference. They will discuss the background behind special regulations such as website blocking through SNI filtering and the criminalization of “boosting” in gaming and explore the problems. Together with audience members, there will also be a discussion on new regulations that are surfacing such as applying TV standards to OTTs, cracking down on “fake news”, and punishing pseudonymous online opinion rigging.

The second session, titled ‘Telling Truths and True Feelings – Are Criminal Truth Defamation and Insult Laws in Accordance with International Human Rights Standards?’ will cover whether current truth defamation laws or insult laws that criminalize the act of speaking out about the truth or expressing one’s subjective opinions are in accordance with the Constitution and international human rights laws, and explore possible directions of improvement.

The third session will discuss the role of the government in the highly-debated issue of virtual child pornography and real dolls. On September 10, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child released a guideline encouraging the States to “include in their legal provisions regarding child sexual abuse material (child pornography) representations of non-existing children or of persons appearing to be children, in particular when such representations are used as part of a process to sexually exploit children (para. 63).”

In Korea, similar amendments to the Act on the Protection of Children and Juveniles Against Sexual Abuse saw an increase in the number of people booked for child sexual abuse by twenty-two fold in 2012-2013. In this session, the role of the government in the gap between imaginations and actions, and the best regulatory path forward will be discussed.

The conference is open to all those interested in freedom of speech, and registration is free of charge. You can find out more about the conference at Open Net’s website, and register through the link below.

https://forms.gle/YGvgebbUDEFEGCxa8