[Asia Economy Reporter Donghoon Jung] The court dismissed the injunction request filed by civic groups to ban the sale and distribution of North Korean leader Kim Il-sung's anti-Japanese memoir "With the Century."
The 21st Civil Division of the Seoul Western District Court (Chief Presiding Judge Byungtae Park) stated on the 14th, "Based solely on the creditors' claims and submitted materials, it cannot be established that there is a right to be preserved or the necessity of preservation that would justify this application," adding, "The creditors' application is without merit and is therefore dismissed."
Earlier, civic groups including the National People's Coalition for Democracy (NPK) applied for an injunction to ban the sale and distribution, arguing that "the book glorifying the Kim Il-sung family infringes on human dignity and personal rights as stipulated by the Constitution of the Republic of Korea and undermines the free democratic basic order."
In response, the court ruled, "If the sale and distribution of this book damages the applicants' honor or infringes on their personal rights, a prohibition of such acts could be sought; however, the content of this book does not directly target the applicants," and added, "It is also difficult to conclude that the acts in question infringe on the applicants' personal rights solely because the book is classified as pro-North Korean propaganda punishable under the National Security Act."
Furthermore, the court stated, "The applicants appear to seek prohibition of the acts on the grounds that the personal rights of the citizens of the Republic of Korea, rather than their own, may be infringed, but personal rights are exclusive rights, and the applicants cannot arbitrarily apply on behalf of the citizens of the Republic of Korea."
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