The ruling Democratic Party (DP) in South Korea once again introduced a controversial bill that will punish people accused of distorting historical facts about Japanese colonialism.
Rep. Kim Yong-min introduced the bill with 12 co-sponsors from the DP last week. The bill aims to punish people who distort facts about the March 1st Independence Movement and imperial Japan’s human rights abuses, as well as people who praise, incite, or propagate Japanese imperialism. It will also punish people using symbols that represent Japanese imperialism, including the Rising Sun Flag or the Japanese imperial flag. Violators will be punished by imprisonment of no more than 10 years or by a fine not exceeding 200 million won ($177,070).
The bill will include a “Commission of Inquiry on Truthful History,” which is set to be established soon, to review the distortion of historical facts. The commission will be comprised of various experts, including historians, and will have the authority to issue correction orders. “There are many attempts to damage and defame the noble values of the anti-Japanese independence movement through lies,” Rep. Kim said. “We need to protect the constitutional values and dignity of our country.”
The main opposition People Power Party (PPP) and some scholars criticized the bill for excessively infringing upon freedom of speech. Kim Gi-hyeon, floor leader and acting leader of the PPP, said “there are concerns that the bill would infringe people’s freedom of speech” at a press briefing held on May 16. Rep. Cho Soo-jin from the PPP told the JoongAng Ilbo newspaper that “distortion of history must disappear, but it is worrisome that the Democratic Party will use the bill as another populist policy to divide people by implementing it emotionally.” Cho pointed out that such a bill reminds her of measures taken during the previous military regimes in South Korea.
“It is similar to making the DP version of the National Security Act,” said Lim Jie-hyun, a professor of history at Sogang University. “Let’s just imagine what would happen if the main opposition party introduced a bill that would punish people who distort facts about the Korean War, including those who argue that South Korea attacked North Korea first. The truth about history will change depending on who gains power.” Lim added that “It is better for the National Assembly not to discuss history in order to prevent the distortion of history.”
Chang Young-soo, a professor of constitutional law at Korea University’s School of Law, argued that determining that certain action is a crime without a proper court ruling on the individual case could cause a problem. “Similar bills can be introduced over and over, which will lead to a negative impact on people by punishing them too excessively,” Chung said.
Recently, the DP introduced various bills that aim to punish people who distort historical facts. One of the examples was a bill amending the Special Act on the May 18 Democratization Movement. The bill was passed in December even though some members of the main opposition party opposed it. The bill will punish a person who denies that the May 18 Gwangju incident was a democratization movement by imprisonment for no more than five years or by a fine not exceeding 50 million won ($44,267).
South Korean liberals call the Gwangju incident a democratization movement, while some conservatives believe that it can be considered to be a riot since civilian protestors illegally obtained weapons from a military warehouse. Some conservatives in South Korea went further to say there were some 600 North Koreans who were dispatched to help people in Gwangju. The new law will punish people who describe the incident as a riot or argue that North Koreans came to the city at that time. Many scholars have warned that it will restrict people’s right to debate and develop arguments, even though they are not defaming or insulting a specific person.
Some conservatives in South Korea criticized the DP for using a double standard.
The DP was strongly opposed to the Park Geun-hye administration’s plan to use government-published textbooks in schools in 2015. Moon Jae-in, who was the party leader of main opposition party at that time, argued that “there is no right answer in history but the government is trying to force people to have a certain answer.” He even said that “People calling for the use of government-published history textbooks are not liberal democrats, but rather are dictators, totalitarians, and nationalists.”
There also is some criticism that the same standard is not used for North Korea-related issues. Some members from the DP publicly argued that it is possible that North Korea is not responsible for the sinking of the warship Cheonan, which killed 46 sailors in 2010. They continue with this false argument even after South Korean officials and an international team concluded that a North Korean torpedo sunk the ship.
Some experts also criticized the latest bill introduced by Kim Yong-min that aims to punish people who praise, incite, or propagate Japanese imperialism as also representing this double standard. A similar legal clause is used in Article 7 of the National Security Act, which Moon Jae-in and the DP continuously argue needs to be amended. Article 7 states that “Any person who praises, incites or propagates the activities of an anti-government organization, a member thereof or of the person who has received an order from it, or who acts in concert with it, or propagates or instigates a rebellion against the State, with the knowledge of the fact that it may endanger the existence and security of the State or democratic fundamental order, shall be punished by imprisonment for no more than seven years.” The punishment for praising Japanese imperialism that happened in the early 1900s would be heavier than praising the current enemies of the state, North Korea in particular.
“The National Security Act that punishes people who praise, incite or propagate the activities of an anti-government organization appears to be an unjust law and it needs to be amended,” said Moon during his presidential election campaign in 2017.
Chang Young-soo, a professor of constitutional law at Korea University’s School of Law, argued that “it is a double standard to say it is okay to praise or propagate for North Korea and punish those who do the same for Japanese imperialism.”
