Sentencing of Korean militants

[Leo]

http://en.internationalism.org/node/4261

We have received the following information concerning the sentencing of the Korean militants which we have already reported in these pages (http://en.internationalism.org/node/4172).

The judge sentenced as follows;

1) Oh Se-cheol, Yang Hyo-sik, Yang Joon-seok and Choi Young-ik : imprisonment of 1 1/2 years, but conditional delay of imprisonment for 3 years for violation of National Security Law, and a fine of 500,000 won ($500)each for violation of Assembly-Demonstration Law.

2) Park Joon-seon, Jeong Won-hyun, Nam-goong Won and Oh Min-gyu : imprisonment of 1 year, but conditional delay of imprisonment for 2 years for violation of National Security Law, and fine of 500,000 won each for violation of Assembly-Demonstration Law.

The meaning of the decision is as follows:

1) The SWLK (Socialist Workers League of Korea) is judged to be an organization for propaganda and agitation for national disturbances, violating Article 7 of the National Security Law.

It shows the political nature of Korean judicial branch, which is a part of state apparatus serving for the capitalist class.

2) The conditional delay of imprisonment can be recognized as the result of Korean and international protest movement. The conditional respite for 3 years means that the imprisonment is suspended for 3 years on the condition of that there will be no other sentence for another crime, and after 3 years the validity of imprisonment sentence expires. But if there is another sentence during the next 3 years, imprisonment from this sentence will follow independently of any imprisonment for further convictions. So, the conditional respite of imprisonment is only a bit better than immediate imprisonment.

3) We, the 8 accused will appeal this sentence to the high court. We will live and act confidently as revolutionary socialists without regard to the political oppression of the Korean state apparatus.

Thank you to all socialists and workers in the world who supported the judicial struggle of Korean socialists.

Please transmit our gratitude to the comrades of the world.

[pranabjyoti]

Please transmit our gratitude to the comrades of the world.
How?

[Leo]

This is the message of the Korean comrades, they are sending their gratitude to the comrades of the world.

[Mather]

Who are the Socialist Workers League of Korea?

The SWLK's politics seem to be good judging by Oh Se-Cheol's speech in court.

[Tablo]

I'm also interested in the organization. It seems to be hard to find out about the far left in korea.

[Leo]

It is a left communist organization in Korea.

[Mather]

It is a left communist organization in Korea.

Thanks, good to see that there is a revolutionary left in South Korea.

Is this level of oppression and the openly political nature of trials such as this one a common occurance in South Korea or has this been a recent development in light of heightened tensions with North Korea?

[pranabjyoti]

I am also interested to know about their political ideological basis.

[Nothing Human Is Alien]

Is this level of oppression and the openly political nature of trials such as this one a common occurance in South Korea or has this been a recent development in light of heightened tensions with North Korea?

It's nothing new. South Korea was founded on the bodies of at least 100,000 suspected "leftists." See: http://www.life.com/gallery/43961/image/3324034/the-korean-war-you-never-knew

The National Security Act, which originated as an anti-communist law, is still on the books. That makes it illegal to "promote anti-government ideas" or even to fail to report someone else who does. That's what these folks were prosecuted under.

* * *

"The National Security Law is a South Korean law which has the avowed purpose 'to restrict anti-state acts that endanger national security and to protect [the] nation's safety and its people's life and freedom.'

"Based on the Law for Maintenance of the Public Security of the Japanese Korea, it was passed in 1948, and made illegal both communism and recognition of North Korea as a political entity. It has been reformed and strengthened with the passing of the times. The Anti-communism Law was merged into the National Security Law during the 1980s....

"This law has been regularly blamed for restricting freedom of speech:

* Citizens may not join an organization with aims to overthrow the government;
* Citizens may not create, distribute or possess materials that promote anti-government ideas;
* Citizens may not neglect to report others who violate this law.

"For instance, in 1998, Mr. Ha Young-Joon (하영준), a graduate student at Hanyang University formerly active with the International Socialists movement, was tried and sentenced to 8 months in prison for having summarized and made available online Chris Harman and Alex Callinicos's main writings on South Korea's national BBS network, in violation of NSA Article 7 Clauses 1 and 5.

"In 2002, Mr. Lee, a new recruit in the South Korean army, was sentenced to 2 years in prison for having said 'I think Korean separation is not North Korean but American fault' to fellow soldiers. The Military Prosecutor's Office could not charge him for what he had said, but it searched Mr. Lee's civilian house and found various books, and charged him in violation of the NSA Article 7 Clauses 1 and 5.

"Other well-known uses of the National Security act include the 1999 banning of students' union Hanchongryun and the 2003 spy case against Song Du-yul, a Korean living in Germany. The severest penalty that could be given according to NSL is the death penalty. The best-known example of death penalty is People's Revolutionary Party Incident." - Wikipedia (http://www.anonym.to/?http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Security_Act_%28South_Korea%29)


"...[South] Korea’s own music media censorship laws (which even in 1997 prohibited the displaying of body piercings, navels, tattoos, 'outfits which might harm the sound emotional development of youth,' and banned violent or political lyrics)..." - Cultural Studies and Cultural Industries in Northeast Asia: What a Difference a Region Makes, pp. 156

See also: South Korean Military's Ban on 'Subversive Books' Upheld (http://www.revleft.com/vb/south-korean-militarys-t144447/index.html?p=1915940) (2010)

[Nothing Human Is Alien]

I should also mention that the folks charged here oppose the states of both the South and the North, seeing both as being "state capitalist."

[Robespierre Richard]

I should also mention that the folks charged here oppose the states of both the South and the North, seeing both as being "state capitalist."

Calling Juche state capitalist is pretty-reactionary. What are they for then, exactly?

[pranabjyoti]

It's nothing new. South Korea was founded on the bodies of at least 100,000 suspected "leftists." See: http://www.life.com/gallery/43961/image/3324034/the-korean-war-you-never-knew

The National Security Act, which originated as an anti-communist law, is still on the books. That makes it illegal to "promote anti-government ideas" or even to fail to report someone else who does. That's what these folks were prosecuted under.
Well, now I am confused which state (North or South) is more oppressive and by what extent. When DPRK is mentioned in any thread, it very quickly become full of remarks like "brainwashed people", "personality cult", "breathtaking oppression", "world's most fucked up country" etc. But, rarely I have seen any mention of the abovementioned law of South Korea from "leftist" DPRK critics. I am also confused with the definition of "brainwashing".

[daleckian]

But, rarely I have seen any mention of the abovementioned law of South Korea from "leftist" DPRK critics. I am also confused with the definition of "brainwashing".

Well since you asked, South Korea has come some ways since a few years ago, but in the 1950s, South Korea under Syngman Rhee was absolutely genocidal. hundreds of thousands of suspected communist sympathizers were shot and buried in mass graves, often on the orders of Eisenhower (who I consider the most evil man of the 20th century for personal reasons). it was pretty bad. consider from wiki's article on Jeju island massacre:



South Korean soldiers assaulted villages and took away young men and girls.[2] The young men were executed, and girls were also executed after they had been gangraped over weeks.[2] Seventy percent of Jeju island villages were burned by the troops.[2]

shit like this happened all the time. under Syngman Rhee then Park Chung Hee, South Korea was a totalitarian police state. a free-market dictatorship. both ruled through massive secret police forces, and remained so well into the 1980s. Trust me when I say MANY South Koreans hate the right-wing for the atrocities committed by right-wing dictators.

[Tablo]

Calling Juche state capitalist is pretty-reactionary. What are they for then, exactly?
They claim to uphold socialism, but it is clear they are state-capitalist. I suggest you read some of the threads discussing North Korea.

[Savage]

I am also interested to know about their political ideological basis.
They are left communists.

[Mather]

It's nothing new. South Korea was founded on the bodies of at least 100,000 suspected "leftists." See: http://www.life.com/gallery/43961/im...you-never-knew (http://www.anonym.to/?http://www.life.com/gallery/43961/image/3324034/the-korean-war-you-never-knew)

The National Security Act, which originated as an anti-communist law, is still on the books. That makes it illegal to "promote anti-government ideas" or even to fail to report someone else who does. That's what these folks were prosecuted under.

* * *

"The National Security Law is a South Korean law which has the avowed purpose 'to restrict anti-state acts that endanger national security and to protect [the] nation's safety and its people's life and freedom.'

"Based on the Law for Maintenance of the Public Security of the Japanese Korea, it was passed in 1948, and made illegal both communism and recognition of North Korea as a political entity. It has been reformed and strengthened with the passing of the times. The Anti-communism Law was merged into the National Security Law during the 1980s....

"This law has been regularly blamed for restricting freedom of speech:

* Citizens may not join an organization with aims to overthrow the government;
* Citizens may not create, distribute or possess materials that promote anti-government ideas;
* Citizens may not neglect to report others who violate this law.

"For instance, in 1998, Mr. Ha Young-Joon (하영준), a graduate student at Hanyang University formerly active with the International Socialists movement, was tried and sentenced to 8 months in prison for having summarized and made available online Chris Harman and Alex Callinicos's main writings on South Korea's national BBS network, in violation of NSA Article 7 Clauses 1 and 5.

"In 2002, Mr. Lee, a new recruit in the South Korean army, was sentenced to 2 years in prison for having said 'I think Korean separation is not North Korean but American fault' to fellow soldiers. The Military Prosecutor's Office could not charge him for what he had said, but it searched Mr. Lee's civilian house and found various books, and charged him in violation of the NSA Article 7 Clauses 1 and 5.

"Other well-known uses of the National Security act include the 1999 banning of students' union Hanchongryun and the 2003 spy case against Song Du-yul, a Korean living in Germany. The severest penalty that could be given according to NSL is the death penalty. The best-known example of death penalty is People's Revolutionary Party Incident." - Wikipedia (http://www.anonym.to/?http://www.anonym.to/?http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Security_Act_%28South_Korea%29)


"...[South] Korea’s own music media censorship laws (which even in 1997 prohibited the displaying of body piercings, navels, tattoos, 'outfits which might harm the sound emotional development of youth,' and banned violent or political lyrics)..." - Cultural Studies and Cultural Industries in Northeast Asia: What a Difference a Region Makes, pp. 156

See also: South Korean Military's Ban on 'Subversive Books' Upheld (http://www.revleft.com/vb/south-korean-militarys-t144447/index.html?p=1915940) (2010)

Thanks for that. I knew that South Korea was a dictatorship from Syngman Rhee's regime right up until 1988, but I thought that the oppressive laws associated with the dictatorship were abolished when the South Korean ruling class made the transition to a bourgeois democracy.

Is there any mass campaign by the working class in South Korea to abolish the National Security Act?

[Mather]

Calling Juche state capitalist is pretty-reactionary.

Why?

Don't you think it is even more reactionary to pretend that North Korea is in any way socialist or that Juche has anything to do with Marxism and the liberation of the working class?


What are they for then, exactly?

State capitalism.

[Os Cangaceiros]

It's nothing new. South Korea was founded on the bodies of at least 100,000 suspected "leftists." See: http://www.life.com/gallery/43961/image/3324034/the-korean-war-you-never-knew


Wow. Never knew that it was that the repression was that terrible in South Korea.

[Nothing Human Is Alien]

Wow. Never knew that it was that the repression was that terrible in South Korea.

That's only a part of it.


Is there any mass campaign by the working class in South Korea to abolish the National Security Act?

No.