Internet media operators and facilitators punished for spreading ‘posts praising North Korea’

Although he claimed to be an “action in hopes of peaceful unification,” he was sentenced to prison for violating the National Security Act.

national security law

Cinematography Lee Chung-won

(Chuncheon = Yonhap News) Reporter Park Young-seo = A man in his 60s who ran an Internet media outlet and posted many posts praising the North Korean regime and leaders, and another man in his 60s who kept a large amount of subversive material and cooperated with the operation of the media were punished.

The Chuncheon District Court Criminal Division 1 (Chief Judge Shim Hyeon-geun) announced on the 2nd that it overturned the original verdict of 3 months in prison for Mr. A (69), who was indicted on charges of praising and encouraging under the National Security Act, and sentenced him to 2 months in prison.

Mr. B, who was charged with providing convenience to the charge of praising and encouraging under the National Security Act, was sentenced to six months in prison, as was the case in the original trial.

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Mr. A, who has been running an internet media outlet, edited posts from North Korean media, which were blocked in Korea, from January to May 2020, and praised, encouraged, promoted, and incited North Korea’s socialist system and Juche ideology on 26 occasions. He was handed over to trial on one charge.

From 2018 to 2020, Mr. B possessed subversive material received through a mobile phone and shared videos posted on North Korean media on Facebook. As Mr. A and his younger brother were being tried for violating the National Security Act, Mr. B became unable to operate the media. He was indicted on charges of providing convenience so that he could operate under his name.

As a result of the investigation, Mr. B had already been sentenced twice to one year in prison and one year of suspension for violating the National Security Act.

The first trial sentenced Mr. A to three and six months in prison, respectively, taking into account the fact that he admitted the crime and the fact that Mr. B generally acknowledged the fact of the act itself.

The application for review of the unconstitutionality of the law filed by Mr. B was not accepted, saying, “The National Security Act violates the Constitution.”

Mr. B, who disobeyed the ruling, argued in the appeal trial that “the sentence was heavy” and “it was only an act done in the hope of peaceful unification, and there was no intention to violate the law.” The prosecution also said, “The sentences given to the defendants were light.” “It’s unfair,” he claimed.

The second trial ruled, “Considering the circumstances recognized by the evidence legally adopted and examined by the original trial, it is reasonable to believe that a crime was committed.”

However, in the case of Mr. A, the sentence was slightly lowered in consideration of fairness and the fact that he was sentenced at the same time as the case of violation of the National Security Act, for which the Seoul Central District Court received a final judgment of 1 year in prison and 1 year of suspension of qualifications after the filing of the indictment in this case, and for Mr. B, the sentence was lowered slightly. The lower court’s decision to sentence him to six months in prison was upheld.

conanys@yna.co.kr

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2024/11/02 08:03 Sent