I think anyone equating Park Geun-hye to Kim Jong-un is a complete idiot. They are as stupid as the people equating Donald Trump to Adolf Hitler. With that said this is another example of how Korea’s defamation laws do put limits on freedom of speech:
This photo, provided by local pop artist Lee Byeong-ha, shows leaflets satirizing President Park Geun-hye and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at the exit of a subway station in Seoul on Dec. 17, 2013. (Yonhap)
A South Korean appeals court on Friday confirmed a monetary penalty for a 48-year-old pop artist and his 38-year-old collaborator who distributed leaflets critical of President Park Geun-hye across the country.
Upholding the previous ruling, the Seoul Central District Court said the act of spreading the leaflets should be distinct from freedom of expression or freedom of art.
The court ordered the artist, Lee Byeong-ha, to pay 2 million won (US$1,700) in fines. Lee, who goes by the stage name Leeha, distributed a total of some 18,000 leaflets in Seoul and other major cities between 2014 and 2015.
A 38-year-old actor, identified only by his surname Han, was also ordered to pay 200,000 won for collaborating with Lee in May last year.
“The defendants said it was a fair expression of their political views, but considering the amount, the location and how the leaflets were spread, their actions cannot be justified,” the court said in the previous ruling. [Yonhap]
