Dear Mr. Carter:
We, the Lawyers Association for Good Society in the Republic of Korea (LAGS), write to you this official letter regarding the statement issued by the Carter Center on December 18, 2014. The LAHS is an independent, non-profit legal organization dedicated to promoting liberal democracy and the rule of law based on the Constitution of the Republic of Korea, and to advocating human rights and social justice throughout Korean peninsula.
We express our deepest concern regarding the inaccurate and misguided statement by the Carter Center on human rights in the Republic of Korea with respect to the conviction of former National Assemblyman Lee Seok-ki.
The Carter Center recently issued a statement on December 18, 2014, expressing concern over the conviction of former Assemblyman Lee Seok-ki, a member of the recently disbanded United Progressive Party (UPP), by the Seoul High Court on a charge of insurrection incitement. The Center’s statement claimed that “Mr. Lee’s conviction is taking place under the provisions of a highly restrictive National Security Law, established during the pre-1987 era of autocratic military rule, that appears to contradict both the Republic of Korea’s international human rights treaty obligations and the nation’s global reputation as a highly successful prosperous democracy.” You also stated, “If the Republic of Korea is to extend its essential role as a human rights leader in Asian and world affairs, there should be a fully transparent democratic debate open to all Korean citizens about current and potential risks to human rights under the terms of the National Security Law.” However, what the statement neglects to mention is that from the start of the investigation to the completion of the trial, Lee Seok-ki has enjoyed the full assistance of several attorneys and aid from the UPP, without any torture or the slightest hindrance.
It is deeply regrettable that you, a Nobel Peace laureate, and the Carter Center levelled such criticisms on the basis of incorrect facts.
1. The Main Charges against Mr. Lee Is the Violation of the Criminal Code, Not the National Security Law.
First, the main charges that Mr. Lee faced are not violations of the National Security Law, but collusion for treason and violation of the Criminal Code. He was found guilty of conspiracy for treason and instigation for treason in the trial court and guilty of incitement for treason in the appellate court. In particular, the Constitutional Court of Korea issued on December 19, 2014 an unprecedented ruling to dissolve the UPP primarily due to Mr. Lee’s convictions of rebellion. The Court also stripped the UPP’s five elected lawmakers from their positions in the National Assembly, effective immediately. According to the Court, the UPP had a hidden agenda to adopt North Korea’s socialism, organizing meetings to plot a rebellion in violation of the basic democratic order of the Constitution. Any country in this world, including the United States, punishes treason in order to protect their citizens and the constitutional order of their nation.
2. The National Security Law Was Amended in 1991.
Second, the Center’s statement suggests that the National Security Law applied to Mr. Lee was established during the pre-1987 era of autocratic military rule. This is inaccurate. The National Security Law was amended in 1991. As for the crime of praising and supporting an anti-state organization (Article 7.1), and the crime of production and possessions of materials benefiting enemies (Article 7.5), the Constitutional Court held the provisions to be constitutional by un unanimous vote in 2004, stating, “The possibility for abuse significantly decreased after the 1991 amendment.” There was an attempt to abolish the National Security Law in 2004; however, it was not successful due to failure to obtain public support.
Unfortunately, it appears that your awareness of human rights in the Republic of Korea is limited to the era of a former President Park Chung-hee, when you were the incumbent U.S. President. Today, the Republic of Korea’s judicial branch issues rulings independently of political power and applies very strict evidentiary standards. Your and the Center’s statement on Mr. Lee’s convictions is disrespectful to the judiciary of the Republic of Korea.
3. The DPRK Is the Worst Totalitarian State in the World but the Carter Center Remains Silent on Pyongyang’s Atrocities.
Third, as everyone knows, the real and most serious violations of human rights occur in the DPRK under the dictatorship of Kim Jong-un. As stated by the Carter Center, the Republic of Korea has gained a global reputation as a highly successful prosperous democracy; however, the DPRK is still in effect a totalitarian state which uses violence and repression against its own citizens to maintain its power. The report by the Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in the DPRK, a UN special committee on human rights, was published in February 2014. Based on over 300 interviews with exiled victims of the DPRK regime and experts, the report found that numerous crimes against humanity have been committed by Pyongyang, including killings, systematic torture, rape, forced abortion, political persecution, starvation, and the imprisonment of up to 120,000 so-called dissidents in prison camps. It found that Pyongyang was violating human rights “without parallel in the contemporary world.” The U.S. Ambassador to the UN, Samantha Power said that the inquiry's testimony showed a pattern of “sadistic punishments meted out to prisoners,” exposing the regime's brutality. “They show North Korea for what it is: a living nightmare,” she added.
You visited this “living nightmare” several times; but to this day, we have never heard of any letter sent by you to Pyongyang expressing concern over the regime’s atrocities. The Center’s misguided statement on the human rights of Seoul while being silent on the brutality of Pyongyang seems to suggest that the Center tacitly supports the North Korean dictatorship.
The Lawyers Association for Good Society in the Republic of Korea is thus sending this letter to you and the Carter Center not only to correct its inaccurate and misguided statement on Seoul’s human rights record, but also to express our deepest concern over its apparent blindness and silence with respect to the Pyongyang’s atrocities.
Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Lee, In Chul
President
Lawyers Association for Good Society in the Republic of Korea
Chah, Kee Whahn
Member of Politics and Society Committee
Lawyers Association for Good Society in the Republic of Korea
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