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court-security law

Top court upholds acquittal of activist who sent letter praising late N. Korean leader

By Chae Yun-hwan

SEOUL, Dec. 31 (Yonhap) -- The Supreme Court has confirmed an acquittal of the head of an inter-Korean exchange group who sent a letter praising late North Korean leader Kim Jong-il and a condolence wreath over his death more than a decade ago, officials said Wednesday.

On Dec. 4, the top court upheld a lower court ruling that found Kim Kyung-sung, chief of the Inter-Korean Sports Exchange Association, not guilty of violating the National Security Act, which prohibits praising an anti-state organization or its members.

Kim was earlier indicted on charges of handing the letter to a North Korean official in February 2010 in time for the then North Korean leader's birthday and sending the wreath to the North Korean Embassy in China after his death in December 2011.

While Kim was initially found guilty of violating the law, an appellate court later struck down the ruling, saying it was not clearly proven whether the defendant's actions posed "clear danger" to the state or the liberal democratic order.

The court, however, fined him 10 million won (US$6,950) on separate charges of embezzling donations in 2013, sending football shoes worth 60 million won to the North without the unification minister's approval in 2015, and sending about $300,000 to China without reporting it to customs the same year.

While both the prosecution and the defendant filed for an appeal, the Supreme Court confirmed the ruling, saying it did not find issues with the verdict.

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