KCSC, "Blocking of North Korea's 'Uri Minjok Auditorium' and 'Chosun Today' Websites"

[Asia Economy Reporter Koo Chae-eun] On the 23rd, the Korea Communications Standards Commission announced that regarding the accessibility of 'Uri Minjok Gangdang' and 'Chosun Today,' which were blocked under the National Security Law, "We will coordinate with relevant government departments to take measures to block them as soon as possible."

'Uri Minjok Gangdang' is the homepage of Kim Il-sung Broadcasting University, and 'Chosun Today' is North Korea's external propaganda media.

The Commission stated, "These two sites are distributed through secure protocols, and we will actively work to ensure they are promptly blocked," adding, "Our commission will conduct reviews in accordance with the procedures and review regulations stipulated in the relevant laws."

According to the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection, in cases related to violations of the National Security Law, upon the request of the head of a central administrative agency, the Korea Communications Commission requests a review by the Communications Standards Commission, which must conduct the review within seven days. Regarding this, the Commission explained that to block an entire site, it comprehensively considers ▲ the purpose of the site operation ▲ the site structure ▲ the content of posts ▲ and the proportion of illegal posts.

However, the Commission also stated that, following the principle of minimal regulation, it primarily reviews information at the unit of individual posts, and when a large volume of information is distributed on a specific site, the proportion of illegal information is also taken into account when deciding whether to block the site.