Not One Has Been Booked for False Charge in the Last Five Years

It was revealed on October 1 that the number of people booked for violation of the National Security Law has decreased for four consecutive years, from 1999 to 2003.

According to the National Assembly’s inspection files submitted to Assemblyman Choi Jae-cheon of the Uri Party by the Ministry of Justice, 506 people were booked for violating the National Security Law in 1999, but the number greatly decreased to 286 in 2000, 247 in 2001, 231 in 2002, and 165 in 2003, showing a decreasing trend for four consecutive years.

Such a trend continued into 2004, and from January to July, the number of people booked or arrested for violation of the National Security Law has been 75 and 28, respectively.

Categorizing these people according to the type of crime, 81.2 percent (134) of the total number fell under “formation of and entry into an anti-state organization” (Article 7, Clause 3). Most of them were booked because they were the leaders of Hanchongryun or the Pan-Korean Alliance for Reunification`s South Korean headquarters.

6.7 percent (11) were related to “anti-state materials” (Article 7, Clause 5). “Execution of anti-state purposes” (Article 4) and “offering help to an anti-state group” (Article 9) were 3.6 percent (6) each. Also, “infiltration and escape” (Article 6) was three percent (5), formation of an anti-state group (Article 3) was 1.2 percent (2), and “assembly and communication” (Article 8) was 0.6 percent (1).

However, nobody has been booked for false charge, the most represented law, from 1999 to July of this year.

Among the 165 booked on the charge of violating the National Security Law, indictment was 58.7 percent(97), suspension of prosecution was 16.8 percent (27), dismissal of prosecution was 1.8 percent (3), and case pending is 23 percent (38).

Jin-Young Hwang buddy@donga.com