South Korea’s civic space is rated as ‘narrowed’ by the CIVICUS Monitor. Among the civic space concerns documented previously are the targeting of unions, restrictions and investigations of civil society groups working on North Korea, press freedom and the right to privacy.
On 24th November 2023, the UN Human Rights Committee issued its Concluding Observations on the implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in South Korea. The Committee noted that there is a bill currently before the National Assembly that would establish a candidate selection committee for commissioners of the National Human Rights Commission of Korea. It called on the government to take the measures necessary to ensure a fully transparent and participatory procedure for the selection and appointment of commissioners, including through the establishment of an independent committee for the nomination of candidates, and ensure the financial independence and autonomy of the Commission to enable it to implement its mandate in full.
The UN Human Rights Committee also raised concerns over the criminalisation of expression, and restrictions on protests and freedom of association.
In recent months, critical journalists have been removed, others face defamation charges and the residence of the Newstapa editor was raided. A man was jailed for a poem praising North Korea while police launched a raid on a doctors' association over protests and strike.
Expression
KBS sacks journalists and removes political programme
They are concerns that the government of South Korea's Conservative President Yoon Suk Yeol, elected in 2022, is returning to past practices of censorship and media control, which it justifies as fighting "fake news."
In November 2023, a daily political programme, "Choo Chin-woo Live," was suddenly removed from the schedule of the public broadcasting group, KBS. Choo Chin-woo, a well-known investigative journalist, had carried out investigations that led to the imprisonment of Conservative presidents Lee Myung-bak (2008-2013) and Park Geun-hye (2013-2017) for corruption and abuse of power. Choo Chin-Woo and news presenter Lee So-jung were also sacked.
This decision was announced as soon as the new KBS president, Park Min, took office on 14th November 2023. The previous president, Kim Eui-chul, was dismissed in mid-September 2023 after several new members were appointed to the Board which shifted the balance of the 11-member Board, giving the conservative faction a majority of six to five. During the vote to dismiss Kim, five board members walked out in protest, saying the process lacked “legitimacy in terms of procedure and content.”
Increasing defamation cases against the media
Under Yoon, South Korea Defamation Cases Against Media Rise https://t.co/Qjwrlv32y6 via @GalloVOA
— Beh Lih Yi 馬麗怡 (@behlihyi) December 12, 2023
According to a report by Voice of America (VOA) in December 2023, in the first 18 months of his presidency, Yoon's government and political allies pursued defamation cases related to at least 11 different instances of coverage. Among the cases analysed by VOA, criminal charges are among those being pursued. This outpaces defamation-related complaints linked to previous South Korean governments.
Among the stories that have prompted complaints are reports that Yoon's wife directed foreign ministry officials to pursue a silver check mark for her X social media account, which denotes a government or official account, and allegations that Yoon moved the location of his presidential office following advice from a shaman. Yoon's office derided both as fake news.
For many of the cases, investigations remain open, and at least six prosecutorial raids on journalists' homes and offices have taken place. The situation creates a chilling effect on news coverage, according to press freedom advocates.
Raid on residence of Newstapa editor
South Korean officials raided the residence of Newstapa CEO and former editor-in-chief Yongjin Kim on 6th December 2023 over a 2022 news report about the country’s president, in a move that authorities say relates to a defamation investigation, but that Newstapa claims is part of an anti-press campaign by the government.
In March 2022, Newstapa reported on a 2011 allegation that current President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was then a prosecutor, decided not to indict a man involved in a banking and real estate scandal after pressure from a lawyer. Yoon has repeatedly denied the allegation.
As part of their reporting, Newstapa published the transcript of a recorded conversation between a freelance researcher and a man who allegedly had direct knowledge of the case. A special team of prosecutors in charge of investigating instances of presidential election intervention accused Newstapa of spreading false information contained in the taped interview.
In a statement published on Newstapa’s website, Kim rejected allegations of wrongdoing as “baseless” and condemned the raid as “unprecedented in the post-democratic era.” He also defended the 2022 news piece as a “perfectly normal” and “well-sourced” verification report about a political candidate.
Man jailed for writing poem about North Korea
In November 2023, Lee Yoon-seop was sentenced to 14 months in prison for praising North Korea in a poem.
On 27th November 2023, the Seoul Central District Court sentenced Lee, 68, to 14 months in prison after charging him with violating the National Security Act. He wrote that if the two Koreas were united under Pyongyang's socialist system, people would get free housing, healthcare and education. The poem was one of the winners of a poetry contest in the North in November 2016.
Ahead of sentencing, the court said: “The defendant has produced and distributed a significant number of subversive expressions that represent North Korea’s position, glorify and praise it, and threaten the existence and security of the country or the basic liberal democratic order over a long period of time during the period of repeated offenses, so it is inevitable that he will be severely punished.”
Amnesty International’s East Asia Researcher Boram Jang said: “The South Korean authorities must drop all charges against Lee Yoon-seop, who has been sentenced to jail simply for exercising his right to freedom of expression. South Korea’s National Security Act has repeatedly been used to censor, intimidate and imprison people deemed to have praised North Korea.”
Article 7 of the National Security Act bans “praising or propagating activities of any anti-state organisation and possession or distribution of pro-enemy materials”.
UN Committee raises concerns on criminalisation of expression
In its Concluding Observations the UN Human Rights Committee raised concerns that no steps appear to have been taken by the government to decriminalise defamation and that imprisonment of up to seven years can be applied under criminal law provisions. It was particularly troubled that journalists who express views critical of government or business interests have been criminally prosecuted, and notes that senior public officials and elected holders of public office continue to file criminal complaints against journalists who criticise them. The Committee also remained concerned that prosecutions continue to be brought under the National Security Act, and in particular under the excessively vague wording of article 7 of the Act.
Peaceful Assembly
Restriction on peaceful assembly in law and practice
The UN Human Rights Committee in November 2023 also raised concerns around restrictions on the right of peaceful assembly.
The Committee said that the banning of a significant number of rallies to ensure the smooth flow of traffic, particularly in the vicinity of the President’s office, based on articles 11 and 12 of the Assembly and Demonstration Act, is not in conformity with the principles of proportionality and necessity.
The Committee is also concerned at reports of heavy-handed policing of protests by disability rights activists in the Seoul subway, including use of excessive force to block and remove protestors, and the application of criminal law to arrest, investigate and fine protest organisers and participants.
Police launch raid on doctors' association over protests and strike
South Korea police launch raid on doctors' association over walkout https://t.co/tJDH5lDbhO pic.twitter.com/NAjfxa4TQD
— Reuters (@Reuters) March 1, 2024
South Korean police launched a raid on 1st March 2024, targeting officials of the Korean Medical Association, as authorities step up pressure to end a walkout by trainee doctors protesting against plans to reform the health system.
The raid came ahead of a mass demonstration in Seoul on 3rd March 2024 by doctors, after the walkout and strike, which began on 20th February 2024, disrupted major hospitals, forcing some to turn away patients and cancel surgeries and other medical procedures.
They are protesting against a plan to increase medical school admissions by 2,000 starting from 2025, which the government says is vital to remedy a shortage of doctors in one of the world's fastest-ageing societies. The young doctors say they are overworked and underpaid, however, and the priority should be to improve their pay and working conditions instead.
On 25th March 2024, medical professors in South Korea have said they will reduce the hours they spend in practice, while some say they plan to resign in support of the doctors’ strike.
Student protesters detained for attempting to enter the presidential office
On 6th January 2024, 20 members of the Korean University Students Progressive gathered in front of the presidential office in Seoul’s Yongsan District to call for a special probe into allegations that first lady Kim Keon-hee participated in stock manipulation. The students were arrested after some of them overran the security checkpoint and attempted to enter the presidential office.
The police requested detention warrants for 16 students, and prosecutors went ahead with official proceedings to have ten of them detained on charges of violating the Punishment of Violence Act. However, on 10th January 2024, a court rejected detention warrants requested. The group has criticised the detention warrants as “unjustified from the very beginning.”
The presiding judge said: “The accused did not commit or plan to commit collective violence. The accused have also acknowledged all the available objective facts regarding violations of the law, and have vowed to cooperate in legal investigations and judicial processes going forward.”
In a press conference ahead of their judicial interrogation, the students said they had asked to meet with the president regarding his veto of a bill that would initiate a special investigation into the first lady, but the police used force to remove all 20 demonstrators and arrested them indiscriminately. “This is an attempt to put a lid on the public’s criticism of the first lady and the Yoon administration,” the group said.
Association
Freedom of association restrictions on public officials and trade unions
The UN Human Rights Committee in November 2023 raised concerns that not all public officials, teachers and workers in non-standard forms of employment, such as “dependent contractors” and “platform workers”, are able to exercise their right to freedom of association, and that a number of restrictions on collective bargaining and collective action by teachers and public officials continue to apply.
The Committee was also concerned at a reported significant crackdown on trade union activities since 2022, including alleged judicial harassment and stigmatisation of the Korean Construction Workers Union, which has reportedly been subjected to multiple forced seizures and heavy administrative fines, and whose members have reportedly been subjected to investigation, detention and, in some cases, imprisonment.