'Park Sang-hak, Head of "For North Korea Freedom," Submits Opinion Letter to Ministry of Unification Requesting Withdrawal of Corporate Cancellation Order over Forced North Korea Leaflet Distribution'

CEO Park Claims "North Korea Leaflet Distribution Is a Corporate Purpose Business... A Matter of Constitutional Freedom of Expression"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] Park Sang-hak, head of the Free North Korea Movement Alliance, who has been persistently distributing leaflets to North Korea, submitted a written opinion to the Ministry of Unification on the last day of the opinion submission deadline regarding the cancellation of his organization's corporate establishment permit.

On the 15th, the final day for submitting opinions, Park submitted a statement to the Ministry of Unification urging the government to revoke the cancellation of the corporate establishment permit. The Ministry of Unification had requested the submission of opinions by this date to provide Park, who did not attend the hearing held on the 29th of last month, with an opportunity to explain himself.

In his statement, Park argued that "sending leaflets to North Korea falls under the business purpose of the corporate establishment," and claimed that "sending leaflets and booklets to North Korea was intended to inform North Korean residents about the inhumane realities and atrocities of the North Korean regime, as well as the development of the Republic of Korea." He emphasized that this was in accordance with the South Korean government's unification policy.

He further stated, "There is no threat to the life and safety of residents in border areas, and the alleged violations of related laws claimed by the Ministry of Unification do not hold, as this falls within the constitutional right to freedom of expression and does not constitute an act harmful to the public interest." He added that the distribution of leaflets to North Korea is protected under the constitutional right to freedom of expression, and that the activities of non-profit organizations should be guaranteed under the constitutional right to freedom of association.

Prior to submitting the statement, on the 13th (local time), Park strongly criticized the South Korean government for blocking leaflet distribution in an op-ed sent to The Washington Post (WP). In the article titled "We Send Food and Information to North Korea. Why Is South Korea Trying to Stop Us?" published on the WP website, Park referred to Kim Yo-jong, First Deputy Director of the North Korean Workers' Party, condemning activists who distributed leaflets to North Korea, and said, "Shockingly, President Moon Jae-in seems to agree with the dictator's sister." He added, "President Moon is obstructing the efforts of activists and defectors who tell alternative stories," and argued, "Silenced defectors cannot inform the world about the brutal acts occurring inside North Korea."

Despite concerns from residents in border areas, Park Sang-hak has persistently carried out leaflet distribution to North Korea, causing controversy. There have been frequent clashes with local residents during the leaflet distribution process. Following the distribution of leaflets on May 31, which drew strong opposition from Kim Yo-jong and other senior North Korean officials, the group also distributed 500,000 leaflets to mark the 70th anniversary of the Korean War. North Korea used these defectors' leaflet distributions as a pretext to take extreme retaliatory measures, including blowing up the inter-Korean joint liaison office last month.

Meanwhile, Park Sang-hak is also under police investigation for allegedly throwing bricks and swinging fists at reporters covering him, causing injuries.