[Open Net and ARTICLE 19 to the Constitutional Court of Korea] Repeal Article 7 of the National Security Act

Open Net and ARTICLE 19 submitted a third-party intervention to the Constitutional Court of Korea regarding the 2017HunBa42 case on the National Security Act. Article 7 of the Act has been used to restrict the free flow of information, criminalizing the expression of positive opinions regarding North Korea. Open Net and ARTICLE 19 asks that the Court find the law unconstitutional, as it is vague and overbroad and does not meet international freedom of expression standards.

You can read the full submission here.

You can also read ARTICLE 19’s statement ‘South Korea: Constitutional Court must repeal National Security Act’ here.

*This is a partial translation of Open Net’s original statement in Korean. You can find the full Korean version here. Contact us at ma****@op*****.kr for more information.

National Security Act

Article 7 (Praise, Incitement, etc.)

(1)    Any person who praises, incites or propagates the activities of an antigovernment organization, a member thereof or of the person who has received an order from it, or who acts in concert with it, or propagates or instigates a rebellion against the State, with the knowledge of the fact that it may endanger the existence and security of the State or democratic fundamental order, shall be punished by imprisonment for not more than seven years.

(2)    Deleted.

(3)    Any person who constitutes or joins an organization aiming at the act as referred to in paragraph (1) shall be punished by imprisonment for a definite term of one or more years.

(4)    Any person who is a member of the organization as referred to in paragraph (3), and fabricates or circulates any falsies fact as to the matters which threaten to provoke any confusion of social order, shall be punished by imprisonment for a definite term of two or more years.

(5)    Any person who manufactures, imports, reproduces, holds, carries, distributes, sells or acquires any documents, drawings or other expression materials, with the intention of committing the act as referred to in paragraph (1), (3) or (4), shall be punished by the penalty as referred to in the respective paragraph.

(6)    Any person who has attempted the crime as referred to in paragraph (1) or (3) through (5), shall be punished.

(7)    Any person who prepares for or plots the crime as referred to in paragraph (3) with the intention of committing it shall be punished by imprisonment for not more than five years.