On January 22nd, the Supreme Court announced
its decision to uphold the Seoul High Court’s verdict; Lee Seok Ki has been
charged for instigating an armed uprising, and is therefore imprisoned for nine
years in addition to a seven-year suspension of his MP status. The Court’s
ruling ended the legal episode that began on August 28th, 2013 when the NIS
raided the homes and offices of Lee Seok-ki and other key members of the Unified Progressive Party [UPP]. In
response to the ruling, the New Politics Alliance for Democracy [NPAD] and
former UPP members have vociferously criticized the alleged inconsistency
between the rulings of the Supreme and Constitutional Courts. However, closer
examination shows that their usual practice is to applaud the rulings with
which they agree, and to disparage those they dislike. Such behavior is apt
for opportunists who will do anything for personal gain, rather than for
politicians who serve the public. This writer will examine the Court’s ruling
more closely and will accordingly make several suggestions to politicians and
the government.
Firstly, politicians need to be more
accepting of the judiciary’s decisions. Regarding Lee’s secret meeting held in
May 2013, the Court stated that: “Preparing for a war on the Korean Peninsula,
Lee presented various physical and technical means for plans in various fields
including, intelligence, propaganda and the military, as well as violent acts
such as destroying key infrastructure… he urged the members to carry out
these plans. Against the backdrop of continued provocation by the North,
his remarks were a dangerous act of inciting a rebellion.” Regarding the
underground group Revolutionary Organization, the Court stated that “The
participants freely discussed acts of violence, but it is difficult to
determine if they ever reached an agreement.” These two statements clearly
indicate that the quantum of evidence used against Lee was that of “beyond a
reasonable doubt.”
Hence, the Court declined to rule on RO
because there was not sufficient evidence to convince the Court of RO’s
existence beyond a reasonable doubt. The Supreme Court’s decision essentially
accords with the recent ruling of the Constitutional Court, which read in part,
that: “To secretly espouse the adoption of North Korean-style socialism and to
take actions to achieve this goal is to violate the basic democratic order as
set out in the Constitution.” For the NPAD and other political commentators to
unduly protest that the Constitutional and Supreme Courts reached different
rulings is to argue that the rule of law is defunct in South Korea. The
respective decisions of the two courts have served to reaffirm that democracy
and the rule of law are indeed essential components of the South Korean
political system. It is only reasonable that legislators should adopt a more
respectful attitudes towards the judiciary.
Secondly, Lee Seok Ki must be made to carry
out his sentence in full and he must not be given any leniency in the form of a
full pardon or conditional release. After the verdict was read, Lee raised his
right hand and shouted “Justice has died.” This act plainly demonstrates that
he feels no remorse for his actions for which he has been convicted. Throughout
the trial, he continued to attempt to justify his actions on the basis of
freedom of expression and thought. Although South Korea does recognize these
freedoms, the country cannot tolerate such extreme manipulations of these
freedoms, especially when they are exploited in order to plan a violent
revolution. The authorities must not give any lenience to Lee, and they must
protect country’s institutions of liberal democracy and the free market by
ferreting out the remnants of his collaborators.
Thirdly, the Assembly must amend its
election laws in order to block pro-North factions and other proxy parties of
NK from elections altogether. Moon Jae In, who served as the Presidential
Secretary for Petition for the Roh administration and Han Myeong Sook
facilitated NK supporters in gaining a foothold in the National Assembly when
they granted Lee Seok Ki a conditional release in 2003 and special permission
to run in the 2005 elections. Such irresponsible misuse of authority should not
be permitted to pass without an accounting. Even prior to the recent trials, an
overwhelming amount of evidence showed Lee to be a blatant pro-North supporter.
He came to idolize Kim Il Sung’s Juche ideology in 1985, and joined the
underground Democratic Revolutionary Party in 1992, which had been started by
another pro-North apologist Kim Young Hwan. Lee continued to be a key member of
the party even after Kim Young Hwan became disillusioned with NK and disbanded
the party. Lee was imprisoned in 2002, but was released with conditions in
2003—he had not even served half of his sentence. Only two years later, he was
permitted to participate unconditionally in the elections.
Fourthly, the NPAD must part ways with the
pro-North faction in their party, and create a new party platform free of
pro-North leanings. Park Jie Won, who is a member of the National Assembly, and
is currently running to be the leader of the NPAD, is an example of someone who
should be excised. He has been previously tried for delivering funerary wreaths
for Kim Jong Il’s funeral on behalf of Kim Jong Eun and Lee Hee Ho, as well as
receiving 80 million KRW in bribes. The interim leader Moon Hee Sang is known
to have exerted his influence to land his brother-in-law a position in Korean
Air. NPAD has played host for pro-North factions. They fomented civil unrest
following the Sewol tragedy, and politicized the NIS comment controversy, which
was a matter best left to the judiciary, and thereby prevented a quick
resolution in addition to weakening the NIS’ capabilities against NK. The NPAD-instigated
candlelight vigil, following the continued import of U.S. beef imports in the
wake of a case of mad cow disease there, paralyzed the then three-month- old Lee Myung
Bak administration and prevented it from full operations. More recently, the
NPAD has proposed numerous explanations for the Cheonan sinking, all of which
are meant to deflect any culpability on part of NK. By discarding its pro-North
tendencies, NPAD should no longer engage in actions that impede the country’s
progress.
I applaud the prosecutors, members of the
NIS, as well as others who safeguarded South Korea’s fundamental institutions
in the Lee Seok Ki trial. We must ensure that pro-North factions do not gain a
foothold and threaten our national structure again.
*The views expressed in Guest Columns do not necessarily reflect those of Daily NK.
