Handonghun: "Democratic Party Provokes People with Spy Law"

Yeo Park Joon-tae "Vote postponed for unclear reasons"
Opposition No Jong-myeon "Needs thorough review... Not opposed"

Han Dong-hoon, leader of the People Power Party, said to the Democratic Party of Korea, "They are teasing the public with the espionage law that prevents industrial spies." This was in reference to the Democratic Party's continuous changes in their stance on the criminal law amendment bill that alters the scope of the espionage law.

Handonghun, leader of the People Power Party, is speaking at the "People Power Party Freshman Lawmakers Study Meeting IV - Local Era, Sustainable Growth Engine of the Republic of Korea" held at the National Assembly Members' Office Building on the 26th. Photo by Kim Hyunmin

On the 3rd, Han said on his social media, "They opposed it, then got angry saying they did not oppose it, then said they would lead it, and now suddenly quietly oppose it again."

He added, "Is it because of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions or Minbyun (Lawyers for a Democratic Society)?" and questioned, "Are they going to sacrifice national interest just to please their faction?"

Han emphasized, "The amendment to the espionage law that changes 'enemy state' to 'foreign country' is necessary to stop industrial and security spies from countries like China. The Democratic Party must know this logically. Now, make a decision."

Park Jun-tae, the floor spokesperson for the People Power Party on the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee, also stated in a commentary that day, "Amendments to the espionage crime law to respond to the leakage of state secrets and industrial technology are urgent," adding, "However, the Democratic Party passed the related amendment bill in the first subcommittee of the Judiciary Committee but is delaying the plenary session vote for unclear reasons."

The Democratic Party holds the position that sufficient review must precede the legal amendment. On the same day, Roh Jong-myeon, the Democratic Party floor spokesperson, told reporters at the National Assembly, "A thorough review of the potential for abuse of the law is necessary, and if there is a real possibility of abuse, measures to prevent it are needed," explaining, "We are not opposed to expanding the scope to foreign countries itself, but there are internal concerns about the potential for abuse, and we are in the process of reviewing those."

Under the current espionage law, only espionage acts for 'enemy states' can be punished. Since the Supreme Court precedent defines enemy states as only North Korea, there is an issue that espionage acts for any country other than North Korea cannot be punished under espionage charges. The amendment bill passed by the Judiciary Committee subcommittee aims to punish espionage acts not only for 'enemy states' but also for 'foreign countries and equivalent organizations' under espionage charges.