Freedom of Expression

Currently…

In December 2020, the South Korean government amended the National Intelligence Service Act using broad language to continue allowing authorities to gather information under the National Security Act. This amendment raised concern amongst South Korean human rights advocates because the vague wording creates the possibility of political expression being penalized.

On September 15, 2022, the Constitutional Court of Korea began reviewing the National Security Act of 1948. One of the act’s priorities are to ‘secure the security of the state, and the subsistence and freedom of nationals.’ The act was originally adopted in 1948 as a temporary measure to try and limit the military threat North Korea posed. However, the act has allowed the South Korean Government to criminalize citizens who speak positively of North Korea. This is an example of censorship in South Korea as the citizens do not have a full freedom of expression.

While the NSA was under review, South Korean president, Yoon Suk-yeol, denied a journalist access to President Yoon’s flight because the broadcaster allegedly had a ‘distorted’ coverage of diplomatic affairs. In response to President Yoon’s action, 8 major media rights’ organizations called out the incidence unconstitutional and historically unprecedented. The International Federation of Journalists said in their coverage of the story, “The Republic of Korea has a proud history of democracy and press freedom that must be defended. President Yoon’s continued targeting of MBC sets a dangerous precedent. The Korean media has rightly defended its media freedom and the IFJ commends ongoing solidarity efforts from journalists and media workers to call out government acts of intimidation and censorship through attempts to block media access.”

Currently, there is a series of ongoing protests for the removal of President Yoon. One protest in particular was in response to the Itaewon crush that happened in October 2022. On October 29th, 2022 in a nightlife district in Itaewon, South Korea many people were celebrating Halloween festivities. With no police monitoring the traffic of these festivities, a large amount of people were trapped in a narrow alley unable to get out. The crowd crush killed 156 people and injured another 196. President Yoon’s response and lack of preparation is causing people to proclaim the message “Stepping down is an expression of condolence.”

Historically…

Around A.D. 668, competing kingdoms unified to rule as one dominion on the Korean Peninsula. For more than a thousand years, these successful regimes maintained political and cultural independence. In 1905, Japan began occupying Korea at the conclusion of the Russo-Japanese War. For the 35 years of colonial rule, Korea became an industrialized country but the people became culturally repressed by the Japanese. In 1945, the United States and the Soviet Union divided the peninsula into two zones of influence. The pro-US Republic of Korea or South Korea and the pro-Soviet North Korea was established. The Korean war further divided the two Koreas and established the demilitarized zone, the establishment of the 38th parallel. The South Korean government initially took a militaristic approach and the people were initially content with limited political freedom.

South Korea has a history of corrupt Presidents. Three out of the last five South Korean presidents have been put under investigation for being corrupt. This created a distrusting relationship between the government and the South Korean citizens. Especially when these presidents are restricting what is said in the media it creates an even larger problem. Those Presidents being Roh Moo-hyun (2003-2008), Lee Myung-bak (2008–2013), and Park Geun-hye (2013–2017).

Roh Moon-hyun was the South Korean president from 2003-2008. In 2009, Roh committed suicide due to the ongoing investigation against him. Roh was being investigated for allegedly receiving $6 million in bribes from a South Korean businessman while in office. He left behind a statement saying, “I am in debt to too many people. Too many people have suffered because of me. And I cannot imagine the suffering they will go through in the future.” While Roh was in office, he had many supporters and the scandal was tarnishing his reputation. One of the biggest accomplishments Roh made as president was being the first South Korean leader to meet to cross the demilitarized zone and meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il.

Lee Myung-bak was the South Korean president from 2008-2013. In 2018, Lee was sentenced to serving 15 years in jail for corruption. The charges that Lee faced were accepting around $10 million in illegal funds from institutions like Samsung and his own intelligence service. This worried people about the close relationship between the government and surveillance companies. Judge Chung Kye-sun said, Such actions from the president, the head of state and the leader of the executive branch, can be severely condemned as it does not stop at violating the fairness and integrity of the presidential office but undermines trust in the entire public office.”

Park Geun-hye was the South Korean president from 2013-2017. She was the first woman to be elected as leader in South Korea. In 2018, Park was sentenced to 24 years in prison for bribery and other charges in a case that exposed the entrenched, collusive ties between the government and huge conglomerates like Samsung. The investigation prompted a multitude of protests for her removal from office. In 2016, Park Geun-hye was impeached by the National Assembly on charges of bribery and abuse of presidential power. During the verdict, Park was convicted of collecting nearly $22 million in bribes from three of South Korea’s top business conglomerates: Samsung, Lotte and SK. She was also found guilty of blacklisting artists, writers and movie directors deemed unfriendly to her government, excluding them from state support programs.

With the history of South Korea’s leaders, there is a lot of distrust and disconnect between the government and the people. Government officials easily censor what is said in media and have close relations with Samsung as well. Freedom of expression is a current problem in South Korean society. Whether this is due to being a conservative society or government corruption, the answer is probably both. Until the corruption in the government is fully addressed and reformed, I do not think there will be full freedom of expression in South Korea.

Sources:

Cable News Network. (n.d.). Former S. Korean president Roh commits suicide. CNN. Retrieved April 28, 2023, from https://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/05/23/roh.dead/

Concerns about free expression in South Korea with security law, restrictions on press freedom and anti-North Activism. Civicus Monitor. (n.d.). Retrieved April 5, 2023, from https://monitor.civicus.org/explore/concerns-about-free-expression-south-korea-security-law-restrictions-press-freedom-and-anti-north-activism/

Sang-hun, C. (2018, April 6). Park Geun-hye, South Korea’s ousted president, gets 24 years in prison. The New York Times. Retrieved April 28, 2023, from https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/06/world/asia/park-geun-hye-south-korea.html

South Korea: President Yoon bans MBC crew from Presidential Plane / IFJ. International Federation of Journalists. (2022, November 15). Retrieved April 5, 2023, from https://www.ifj.org/media-centre/news/detail/category/press-freedom/article/south-korea-president-yoon-bans-mbc-crew-from-presidential-plane.html

Thomson Reuters. (2018, October 5). South Korea jails former president Lee for 15 years on corruption charges. Reuters. Retrieved April 28, 2023, from https://www.reuters.com/article/us-southkorea-politics-corruption/south-korea-jails-former-president-lee-for-15-years-on-corruption-charges-idUSKCN1MF0J1

Wikimedia Foundation. (2023, April 3). History of South Korea. Wikipedia. Retrieved April 5, 2023, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_South_Korea#Moon_Jae-in,_2017%E2%80%932022

World Report 2022: Rights trends in South Korea. Human Rights Watch. (2022, January 13). Retrieved April 5, 2023, from https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2022/country-chapters/south-korea