Kim Jong-un T-shirt Sellers Face No Security Law Charges

T-shirts featuring Kim Jong Un, sold through online marketplaces Coupang and Naver. Photo=Coupang·Naver Screenshot

On the 8th, it was revealed that the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s Security Investigation Team had issued a no-suspicion disposition to two sellers who sold t-shirts printed with the face of Kim Jong Un, the Chairman of the State Affairs Commission of North Korea and to Naver and Coupang which mediated the sale and sent them to the prosecution.

Mr. A and Mr. B, who run a parody apparel sales company, have been selling t-shirts printed with the smiling face of Chairman Kim and the phrase ‘Comrade, walk only the flower path’ through Naver’s Smart Store and Coupang since 2022.

In response, conservative groups such as the Public Power Monitoring Center and the Righteous Society Citizens’ Meeting reported the sellers and Naver and Coupang to the authorities last August accusing them of “glorifying and praising the monster of an anti-state organization” and violating Article 7 of the National Security Act (production and sale of treasonous expression materials).

The conservative groups explained their reasons for the report saying, “The act of praising and promoting the monster of an anti-state organization lowers the alertness against forces trying to overthrow the Republic of Korea, eventually leading to a gap in national security,” and “The t-shirt not only enhances familiarity with Kim Jong Un, but also by praising and promoting the monster of an anti-state organization, it can ultimately endanger the free democratic basic order.”

Regarding Coupang and Naver, the intermediaries of the online sale they pointed out, “Coupang and Naver allowed the sale of Kim Jong Un t-shirts, participating in the sale in the form of intermediation,” and “This is an act of legitimizing the sale of treasonous expression materials and not preventing the criminal acts of the accused which is a violation of the National Security Act.”

After the report, Mr. A and Mr. B stopped selling the t-shirts. Naver and Coupang also decided to immediately delete any related posts.

The police concluded the investigation with a no-suspicion disposition, saying, “It is difficult to see the t-shirt as an aggressive and offensive treasonous expression material threatening the existence and safety of the state, and it appears that the sellers sold it for profit and livelihood purposes.”

By. Soo Min Hwang