Supreme Court confirms justification of UPP disbandment

Supreme Court has upheld jail sentences handed down to former United Progress Party (UPP) lawmaker Lee Seok-ki and UPP’s Gyeonggi chapter leader Kim Hong-yeol for instigating a plot to overthrow the government. In the Supreme Court decision, the now-defunct UPP lawmaker Lee and Kim were sentenced to nine years and five years in prison respectively. “In anticipation of war with North Korea, the two defendants instigated members of the secret underground assembly at the Marist Teaching Brothers to implement concrete activities including destroying national infrastructure,” the court said. An overwhelming majority of chief justice, 10 out of 13, upheld the sentence.

The Supreme Court also confirmed the High Court’s clearing Lee of plotting a revolt, citing that the UPP former lawmaker is guilty of instigating a revolt to 130 members of the secret assembly with aims to overthrow the government but it is hard to see that the members agreed in details. The top court also said freedom of idea and expression could be shrunk, if simple exchange of opinions is deemed as an agreement on concrete action.

Although the court acquitted defendants of conspiring a rebellion, it does not undermine the Constitutional Court’s decision to disband the UPP. The Constitutional Court’s verdict to dissolve the party came after the appeals court upheld Lee’s charges of instigating rebellion as the top court did. The top court said, “As the act of instigating a rebellion itself has illegality on a par with preliminary plotting of a revolt, the same level of legal punishment is applied.” Whether it is conspiring or instigating a revolt, it cannot change the fact that the group that pursued North Korean style revolution attempted to secure a bridgehead in the National Assembly.

The top court carefully dealt with the existence of a secret underground Revolutionary Organization (RO). “It is hard to say that the fact that RO exists and RO members attend the assembly is proven to an extent where reasonable doubts are excluded,” said the court. Judges decided that only transcripts of dialogues from the assembly are not sufficient to be regarded as direct evidence. However, it is also true that perfect evidence is hard to find in the investigation on a secrete organization.

After his sentence was confirmed, Lee shouted, “Judicial justice has died!” Rather, the Supreme Court’s upholding the guilty verdict shows that efforts of the judicial authority to keep "free and democratic orders" are effectively implemented, along with the Constitutional Court’s decision to dissolve the UPP. Lee’s charge of sedition was a starting point for the government to file a petition to dissolve the leftist party. As Lee was found guilty of those charges, the Constitutional Court’s verdict has earned final justification.