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A man in his 60s, who has been posting messages praising the North Korean regime on social media for years, was sentenced to actual imprisonment in an appellate court.
On the 14th, the criminal department of Chuncheon District Court announced that it had sentenced Mr. A (64), who was indicted for violating the National Security Law, to one year in prison and one year of disqualification, the same as the original sentence.
From 2017 to 2020, Mr. A posted more than 100 messages online from his home in Wonju, Gangwon Province, such as “Chairman Kim Jong-un of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea,” “Anyone is helpless in front of North Korean weapons,” and “Work hard to unify under North Korea’s leadership sooner rather than peaceful unification.”
The posts by Mr. A included content that propagates the legitimacy and superiority of the North Korean regime, praises Kim Il-sung and his descendants and the military-first politics, calls for the withdrawal of U.S. troops in South Korea, opposes the South Korea-U.S. military exercises, and denies the legitimacy of South Korea, in line with North Korea’s claims.
He also hung a frame in his house that he had ordered to be made, with a picture of Kim Il-sung, the first supreme leader of North Korea, and the phrase “We will forever hold up the great leader Comrade Kim Il-sung as the sun.”
Mr. A also had possession of a document titled “Immortal Classic Works of our Beloved Supreme Leader Comrade Kim Jong-un,” which excerpted “Kim Jong-un’s Central Committee Business Report on the 7th Congress of the Workers’ Party of Korea,” among other treasonous materials, on his PC.
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According to the investigation, Mr. A had a history of joining the Unified Progressive Party (dissolved on December 19, 2014) in 2012.
He reportedly began to sympathize with North Korea’s claims after reading related posts since 2010.
Mr. A applied for a constitutional review, arguing that the National Security Law is unconstitutional. Still, the first trial dismissed it based on the constitutional decision of the Constitutional Court.
In the appellate court, Mr. A argued that the first trial’s refusal to accept the request to send documents to the Ministry of Unification and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs violated his right to defense and fair exercise of rights. Still, the court did not accept it, saying, “Even without checking the documents, we can judge the right and wrong of the defendant’s claim.”
Regarding the claim of unfair sentencing by Mr. A and the prosecution, the court stated, “It cannot be seen as too heavy or light,” and handed down the same sentence of one year in prison and one year of disqualification as the original trial. The court then arrested Mr. A, who had been on trial without detention, on the spot.
By. Nam Yoon Jeong
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