hankyoreh

former Seoul bureau chief for Japanese newspaper the Sankei Shimbun

The public interest law center for the group People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy (PSPD) announced 22 examples of lawsuits intended to silence critics of the Park Geun-hye administration.

“These include state agencies and public officials pressing charges or attempting to claim damages for ‘defamation’ or ‘insult’ against citizens or journalists during the first half of the Park administration [from Feb. 2013 to Aug. 2015],” the center explained on Sept. 6.

According to the center, examples of civil and criminal law being used as tools to pressure those criticizing, satirizing, or raising reasonable questions about the Blue House, National Intelligence Service, and senior officials have not declined since Park took office.

The 22 “muzzling” cases selected by PSPD included eighteen criminal cases and four civil suits. A total of four criminal cases involve alleged defamation of Park. Examples of the “defamation” included allegations concerning unelected power brokers in the Blue House and questions about Park’s whereabouts during the Sewol ferry sinking in Apr. 2014. The cases were lodged by conservative groups or investigated and filed by police and prosecutors, with questions surrounding whether Park’s own intent to press charges was verified in cases that would ostensibly require her consent to file, the group said.

Four cases filed by former Blue House Chief of Staff Kim Ki-choon and the so-called “doorknob triumvirate” concerned media reports alleging interference in Blue House operations by former top Park aide Chung Yoon-hoi, while another concerned reports on the Sewol tragedy.

The NIS was listed as filing a total of three civil and criminal cases against journalists and attorneys over allegations of evidence doctoring in a high-profile espionage case involving Seoul city ontractor Yoo Woo-sung. Lawmakers Kim Moo-Sung and Hong Moon-jong of the ruling Saenuri Party filed complaints against civil groups over allegations of corruption.

“The people who are sued end up experiencing psychological intimidation, disruption to their personal relationships, and a financial burden. This functions to silence people by encouraging citizens to remain quiet in public and diminishing the formation of critical public opinion,” PSPD said.

“This repeated filing of ‘muzzling’ suits to prevent the public’s legitimate monitoring and criticism of official activities needs to be stopped,” the group argued.

In three of the four civil cases, courts have already ruled that the defendants bear no responsibility for damages.

PSPD analyzed thirty similar cases for the Lee Myung-bak administration (2008-13) last year, including twenty-four criminal and six civil suits. The results showed guilty verdicts in just two criminal cases and no instances of defendants being found liable under civil law. Two of the cases are still under investigation or in trial.

By Kim Kyu-nam, staff reporter

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