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REPUBLIC OF KOREA: Arrest of scholar Song Du-yul under the National Security Law

October 29, 2003

URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAM

29 October 2003

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UA-67-2003: REPUBLIC OF KOREA: Arrest of scholar Song Du-yul under the National Security Law


REPUBLIC OF KOREA: National Security Law; Freedom of expression, opinion

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Dear friends

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that Korean-German scholar Song Du-yul, 59, who returned to Republic of Korea (ROK) after 37 years of exile in Germany, was arrested for allegedly violating anti-communist provisions in the National Security Law on 22 October 2003. He was arrested after he refused to make a formal pledge of loyalty to the government, and submit a letter declaring his conversion of ideology, which the prosecution authority has demanded.

AHRC is concerned that Mr. Song's arrest violates his freedom of opinion and expression, which is ensured by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which South Korea is a party. Your urgent action is required to demand the government of the Republic of Korea to release him immediately.

Urgent Appeals Desk

Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)

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DETAILED INFORMATION:

Korean-German scholar Song Du-yul, who has been under investigation for his pro-North Korean activities since he returned home last month after 37 years of exile, was taken to a detention center in Seoul on 22 October 2003 after a court approved an arrest warrant against him on charges of violating the anti-communist National Security Law. The prosecution now has up to 30 days to decide whether or not to indict him.

The prosecutor has accused Song Du-yul of joining the North Korean Workers' Party in 1973, acting as a member of its Politburo in the 1990s, visiting Pyongyang more than 20 times, and accepting about $150,000 from North Korean government while staying in Germany. The prosecutor has cited an article from the National Security Law that states, "anyone who is a member of any anti-national organization and serves as an executive member or leader of such group is punishable by law."

Mr. Song has acknowledged joining the Workers' Party but has continuously denied acting as a member of the Workers' Party Politburo. His lawyer, Kim Hyeong-tae, said the charges were distorted and he would try to prove the truth during the trial.

Prosecutors apparently took a hard stance towards Song Du-yul as he refused to make a formal pledge of loyalty to the Republic of Korea. Prosecutors had indicated they would take lenient measures against Song if he showed a truly repentant attitude.

In fact, in an earlier press conference, Song Du-yul said that he would relinquish his membership in the North Korean Workers' Party and renounce his German citizenship to live a life as an academic in Republic of Korea. He also said he would abide by its laws from now on. On October 14 he also submitted a written statement to the prosecution authority. In the statement, he renewed his vow.

However, the prosecutors did not regard his letter as a formal pledge of conversion. Prosecutors demanded Mr. Song submit a letter declaring his conversion of ideology as a condition for suspending indictment, but Song has so far refused to do so.

Korean human rights organizations and Song Du-yul's lawyers claimed that the prosecution could not prove his role as a spy for North Korea, or his alleged connections with North Korea, even though they summoned him more than ten times. During these occasions, Mr. Song was not allowed access to his lawyer. They suspect that the prosecution arrested Song Du-yul to pressure to convert and confess. In addition, although he has not been convicted, a member of parliament investigating the case has already insisted that Mr. Song is guilty of the charges, and the government should take action against him. These unproved charges were revealed to the media, and the media has targeted him as a spy.

Republic of Korea's "Ideology conversion system" which has been succeeded by an "oath of law-abidance," violates Song Du-yul's freedom of expression under articles 18, 19 and 26 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Republic of Korea is a party. Therefore, Song Du-yul should be released immediately.

SUGGESTED ACTION:

Send a letter, fax or email to the addresses below to express your concern of this case.

1. Mr. Roh Moo-hyun
President

President, Republic of Korea
1 Sejong-no, Jongno-gu
Seoul 110-820,
REPUBLIC OF KOREA

Tel: +822 770-0018
Fax: +822 770-0347 or 770-0001 / +822 770-2579 (for appeal)
E-mail: president@cwd.go.kr

2. Ms. Kang Kum-sil

Minister of Justice

1 Jungang-dong, Kwachon-si,

Kyonggi Province, 427-760,

REPUBLIC OF KOREA

Fax: +822 504-3337 / +822 503 7046 (HR Department)

E-mail: jk.kim@moj.go.kr

3. Chang-kook Kim

President

National Human Rights Commission of Korea

16 Euljiro 1-ga, Jung-gu
Seoul
Korea, 100-842

Tel: +82 2 2125 9700

Fax: +82 2 2125 9811 / 9666

E-mail: nhrc@humanrights.go.kr

4. Mr. Ambeyi Ligabo

Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
c/o Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
United Nations Office at Geneva
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Fax: +41 22 917 9003

E-mail: urgent-action@ohchr.org

Sample letter:

Dear

Re: Arrest of scholar Song Du-yul under the National Security Law

I am writing to bring to your attention the arrest of Korean-German scholar Song Du-yul.

According to the information I have received, he was arrested on charges of violating the anti-communist National Security Law on 22 October 2003, even though the prosecution could not prove his role as a spy for North Korea, or his alleged connections with North Korea, during an intensive investigation. In addition, Mr. Song has been denied access to his lawyer when summoned for interrogation.

There is grave concern that the prosecutors arrested Song Du-yul to pressure him to convert his ideology and confess to crimes. Republic of Korea prosecutors have demanded Mr. Song make a formal pledge of conversion, and submit a letter to this effect as a condition for suspending indictment, which Mr. Song had refused to do.

The "Ideology conversion system" which has been succeeded by the "oath of law-abidance," violates Song Du-yul's freedom of expression under articles 18, 19 and 26 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which South Korea is a party.

I urge the government of the Republic of Korea to release Mr. Song Du-yul immediately. I also urge the government to fully ensure that Mr. Song has access to his lawyers. I further urge the government to abolish the National Security Law, which has been used to suppress people's rights for a long time.

Regardless of whether it differs from the state's ideology, one's right of opinion and expression should be respected by the state in accordance with international human rights standards and laws.

Sincerely yours

 

 

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Thank you.

Kim Soo A

Urgent Appeals Programme

Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
UA-67-2003
Issues :
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Extended Introduction: Urgent Appeals, theory and practice

A need for dialogue

Many people across Asia are frustrated by the widespread lack of respect for human rights in their countries.  Some may be unhappy about the limitations on the freedom of expression or restrictions on privacy, while some are affected by police brutality and military killings.  Many others are frustrated with the absence of rights on labour issues, the environment, gender and the like. 

Yet the expression of this frustration tends to stay firmly in the private sphere.  People complain among friends and family and within their social circles, but often on a low profile basis. This kind of public discourse is not usually an effective measure of the situation in a country because it is so hard to monitor. 

Though the media may cover the issues in a broad manner they rarely broadcast the private fears and anxieties of the average person.  And along with censorship – a common blight in Asia – there is also often a conscious attempt in the media to reflect a positive or at least sober mood at home, where expressions of domestic malcontent are discouraged as unfashionably unpatriotic. Talking about issues like torture is rarely encouraged in the public realm.

There may also be unwritten, possibly unconscious social taboos that stop the public reflection of private grievances.  Where authoritarian control is tight, sophisticated strategies are put into play by equally sophisticated media practices to keep complaints out of the public space, sometimes very subtly.  In other places an inner consensus is influenced by the privileged section of a society, which can control social expression of those less fortunate.  Moral and ethical qualms can also be an obstacle.

In this way, causes for complaint go unaddressed, un-discussed and unresolved and oppression in its many forms, self perpetuates.  For any action to arise out of private frustration, people need ways to get these issues into the public sphere.

Changing society

In the past bridging this gap was a formidable task; it relied on channels of public expression that required money and were therefore controlled by investors.  Printing presses were expensive, which blocked the gate to expression to anyone without money.  Except in times of revolution the media in Asia has tended to serve the well-off and sideline or misrepresent the poor.

Still, thanks to the IT revolution it is now possible to communicate with large audiences at little cost.  In this situation there is a real avenue for taking issues from private to public, regardless of the class or caste of the individual.

Practical action

The AHRC Urgent Appeals system was created to give a voice to those affected by human rights violations, and by doing so, to create a network of support and open avenues for action.  If X’s freedom of expression is denied, if Y is tortured by someone in power or if Z finds his or her labour rights abused, the incident can be swiftly and effectively broadcast and dealt with. The resulting solidarity can lead to action, resolution and change. And as more people understand their rights and follow suit, as the human rights consciousness grows, change happens faster. The Internet has become one of the human rights community’s most powerful tools.   

At the core of the Urgent Appeals Program is the recording of human rights violations at a grass roots level with objectivity, sympathy and competence. Our information is firstly gathered on the ground, close to the victim of the violation, and is then broadcast by a team of advocates, who can apply decades of experience in the field and a working knowledge of the international human rights arena. The flow of information – due to domestic restrictions – often goes from the source and out to the international community via our program, which then builds a pressure for action that steadily makes its way back to the source through his or her own government.   However these cases in bulk create a narrative – and this is most important aspect of our program. As noted by Sri Lankan human rights lawyer and director of the Asian Human Rights Commission, Basil Fernando:

"The urgent appeal introduces narrative as the driving force for social change. This idea was well expressed in the film Amistad, regarding the issue of slavery. The old man in the film, former president and lawyer, states that to resolve this historical problem it is very essential to know the narrative of the people. It was on this basis that a court case is conducted later. The AHRC establishes the narrative of human rights violations through the urgent appeals. If the narrative is right, the organisation will be doing all right."

Patterns start to emerge as violations are documented across the continent, allowing us to take a more authoritative, systemic response, and to pinpoint the systems within each country that are breaking down. This way we are able to discover and explain why and how violations take place, and how they can most effectively be addressed. On this path, larger audiences have opened up to us and become involved: international NGOs and think tanks, national human rights commissions and United Nations bodies.  The program and its coordinators have become a well-used tool for the international media and for human rights education programs. All this helps pave the way for radical reforms to improve, protect and to promote human rights in the region.