South Korean Indicted Over Twitter Posts From North

[alp227]

South Korean prosecutors indicted a social media and freedom of speech activist this week for reposting messages from the North Korean government’s Twitter account.

Park Jung-geun, 23, a photographer who specialized in taking pictures of babies, was detained last month on charges of violating South Korea’s controversial National Security Law, which bans “acts that benefit the enemy” —North Korea — but does not clearly define what constitutes such acts. The Twitter account Mr. Park was accused of reposting is run by the North Korean government Web site, Uriminzokkiri.com, which South Korean news media regularly cite for their stories.

full: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/03/world/asia/south-korean-indicted-for-twitter-posts-from-north-korea.html

[Lars77]

1. Democracies are getting more and more authoritarian.

Governments fixation for electronic surveillance needs to be curbed before it is too late. This is getting out of hand. I just read that in Germany, the government is considering using FACE SCANNERS at football games, despite violence is actually very rare.

[2ndAmForComputers]

2. South Korea used to be a full-on military dictatorship, wasn't it?

Only recently redemocratized, if I remember right?

I guess old habits die hard.

[Diclotican]

3. alp227

alp227

You must rembember. Technically and legal The republic of Corea, and the pepoles Democratic Republic of Korea are still on war footing, they have a inner border who is the most fortified border on the face of the planet...

he National Security Law is controversial, but when you have a enemy with Seoul on a stricing distanse for more than 4000 artillery pieces and 1.4 million soldier on the border, who want to "get you", then you tend to keep the laws... To protect against enemies, real or othervice.. In contrast to the US who haven't had war on their own soil since 1864, the Koreans KNOW what modern war is, and also know how painfull it is, to clear up the rubble and build up everything again..

Just for the record, I do not support it at all, in a democracy you must accept different ideas.. But I can also understand why the Republic of Korea deside it to be the nessesary to have this type of legal ways to curb information, who could end up in the hands of enemies.. And the North Korea IS a enemy...

Diclotican