hankyoreh

Release prisoners of conscience!” at the “World without the National Security Law” ceremony in Jongno-gu

The National Security Law marks its 60th anniversary Monday. Enacted in 1948 as a time-limited law during a period of emergency, the National Security Law itself speaks of South Korea’s winding modern history and of incomplete democracy.

Countless victims have suffered unfairly, including fabricated spies and those arrested for thought crimes because of drunken speech, and no fewer than 16 years have gone by since the UN Human Rights Council designated it a vicious law against human rights and recommended its abolition. But the law has maintained its existence tenaciously, leaning on deep-seated ideological conflicts and a discourse of ideological affiliation in South Korean society. Since the launching of the conservative administration, the National Security Law and the power of public security organizations depending on it have grown in strength.

With the 60th anniversary of the National Security Law approaching, civic groups such as People Solidarity for National Security Law Abolition held a petition movement for the law’s abolition and an abolition prayer Mass around Seoul’s Gwanghwamun Sunday afternoon. They plan to release a 10,000-person statement Monday asking for the abolition of the law. Criticizing the law, they said, “The ghost of the National Security Law has come back to life and is being used as a noose for those critical of the government.” Yonsei University Professor Emeritus Oh Sei-chul, recently arrested on charges of violating the National Security Law, said, “As long as the beast that is the National Security Law infringes upon freedom of ideas and conscience, the democratic values of our society are a mere candle in the wind.”

But since the inauguration of the Lee Myung-bak administration, so-called “public security organizations” such as the prosecutor’s office, police and National Intelligence Service have been competing to create “incidents” and increase their power.

The prosecutor’s office held a nationwide public security prosecutors’ workshop, attended by more than 70 public security officials and prosecutors, at a Gyeonggi-do training institute on November 24 and 25. It was the largest such meeting since the public security prosecutors’ workshop held in 2001. The subject of the workshop was also different, changing from the reflective character of past themes such as “public security reborn” and “reestablishing roles with changes in the times” to the aggressive theme of this workshop, “establishing advanced law and order.” The Supreme Public Prosecutors’ Office is pursuing plans to restore the third section of its public security division in March of next year, and the public security budget is to increase by 32.2 percent from 2.9 billion won this year to over 3.8 billion won next year.

The movements of the NIS have also been unusual. Following the announcement of a policy of “strengthening investigation of spies and security offenses” through a presidential briefing in May, it is pursuing the resumption of direct reports to the president by the NIS director, which were halted with the Roh Moo-hyun administration. The government and ruling party are adding their strength, pursuing the amendment of the National Intelligence Service law to expand the scope of NIS activities.

Just this year, public security organizations have been charging a series of groups with violation of the National Security Law, from the Socialist Workers League of Korea and Solidarity for Practice of the South-North Joint Declaration to some of the groups that led the candlelight demonstrations. While courts have twice rejected arrest warrants for those involved in the SWLK incident, police have not dropped charges against them of forming a group benefiting the enemy (North Korea). A member of one of the civic groups said, “It seems like since the inauguration of the new administration, the atmosphere rampant among the public security organizations, which had previously withdrawn, is that they feel they have to distinguish themselves to gain strength.” The civic group member added, “This kind of ‘new public security situation,’ strangling the forces critical of the government, will emerge as a factor that harms social unity in the end.”

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