I've been called a free speech "absolutist" & I embrace the label. But no society can remain free if it allows some people to threaten violence against others for the peaceful expression of their views. A society that does so selectively commits censorship by proxy. #juchejugendhttps://t.co/ZETAzwrTzB
Could you imagine the precedent this would set for the tech companies if they have to pay taxes to every country where citizens use its services? Users are already paying a fee to the Internet provider in the country that is being taxed:
South Korea is considering launching probes into global tech companies that have come under suspicion for not paying their dues, the government here said Wednesday.
The move comes amid growing criticism that global tech giants, including Google Inc. and Facebook Inc., have not properly paid their taxes to local authorities while generating profits every year.
“The government is aware that it is a problem that needs to be more actively addressed,” ICT Minister Yoo Young-min said during an annual audit with lawmakers. “The ministry is mulling over the launch of a joint investigation with the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Financial Services Commission and the Fair Trade Commission.”
The lawmakers at the gathering argued that the government should come up with countermeasures to properly deal with alleged wrongdoings by the multinationals if they do not follow local regulations.
“It is vital that an organization should be set up to come up with joint countermeasures against global companies that may not be paying their taxes here,” said Rep. Kim Kyung-jin, adding that it’s important to find out how much foreign companies make. [Yonhap]
You can read more at the link, but I think Dr. Tara O may be on to why the ROK government is looking at going after the tech companies:
Park Kwang-on, Deoburreo Minju Party, “asked” Google to remove 104 YouTube cases. When Google didn’t, he called Google Korea head for questioning re alleged tax evasion& alleged fake YouTube. High pressure tactics to suppress voices for freedom, rule of law, pro-ROK-US alliance https://t.co/QKZcsRkRaY
I wonder if this proposed ban to save children from so called “harmful” information will include websites that push anti-Japanese viewpoints?:
The government is seeking to prevent children’s access to online communities that advocate hate and discriminatory speech against selective groups of people. The move aims to counter a social rift triggered and widened by extremist, gender-divided online communities _ the far-right troll website Ilbe, frequented almost exclusively by men, and the extreme feminist website WOMAD.
According to a report submitted by the Korea Communications Commission (KCC) to Rep. Noh Woong-rae of the Democratic Party of Korea, the commission seeks to revise relevant laws to designate such websites that foster hatred and discrimination as “harmful” to children. [Korea Times]
Here is another example of South Korea’s laws that can be used to restrict free speech:
The poster by artist Lee Ha depicting former President Chun Doo-hwan holding a check for 290,000 won (US$250)
Lee Ha gets two year suspended sentence over poster that satirized former President Chun Doo-hwan
The Supreme Court said on Dec. 11 that it was upholding a court ruling issuing a suspended 100,000-won (US$85) fine to an artist accused of violating the Minor Offenses Act by putting up wall posters satirizing former President Chun Doo-hwan.
The sentence suspension system allows those accused of minor infractions to avoid punishment if two years pass without a sentence.Political pop artist Lee Ha (real name Lee Byeong-ha), 47, was indicted for putting up 55 of the posters in the area around Chun’s residence in the Yeonhui neighborhood of Seoul early on the morning of May 17, 2012, the eve of the anniversary of the 1980 Gwangju Democratization Movement. The images showed Chun dressed in prison clothes and handcuffs and carrying a check for 290,000 won (US$250), which was all the money he said he had at time, despite his corruption while president from 1980-88. [Hankyoreh]
This just goes to show that in Korea there are limits to free speech that people need to be aware of:
Suwon District Court sentenced four months in prison to two “Ilbe” members who were convicted of criminal insult. The insult unfolded in this manner: one defendant, last named Kim, purchased the school uniform for Danwon High School–the high school whose entire second year class nearly wiped out in the Sewol tragedy–for the purpose of Internet trolling. Kim discussed with the other defendant, last named Cho, about the best way to troll, and Cho suggested Kim take a picture of himself wearing the uniform and holding up a stick of fish cake. The caption for the picture would read: “I made a new friend”–that is to say, the drowned Danwon student is now friends with fish. [Marmot’s Hole]
You can read the rest at the link, but this seems like a pretty harsh punishment for Internet trolling. Korean men who rape USFK soldiers get less less jail time than this.
It appears that some in the Korean government want to pull a Sony and give in to North Korean threats at the expense of free speech for their citizens:
A South Korean parliamentary committee adopted a resolution Thursday calling on the government to take necessary steps to protect its citizens from any harm caused by civic activists’ flying of anti-Pyongyang leaflets across the inter-Korean border.
The resolution, adopted by the National Assembly’s foreign affairs and unification committee, also urges the two Koreas to abide by their earlier agreements to stop all slander against each other, noting it is key to building trust.
“(We) urge the government to take necessary steps so as to ensure the spread of anti-North Korea leaflets does not damage the improvement of South-North ties and jeopardize the safety of our citizens,” the resolution said.
The leaflet campaign, often led by North Korean defectors in the South, has long been a source of tension between the two Koreas as it aims to stir up dissent against the regime of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
Seoul has long dismissed Pyongyang’s demands to ban the campaign, citing freedom of speech.
Speaking during the committee meeting, Unification Minister Ryoo Kihl-jae stressed that the government’s position remains unchanged. The government also believes it should take steps if they are needed for the people’s safety, he said.
The minister, however, ruled out a direct link between the leaflet scattering and any improvement in bilateral ties.
The government’s stance has been closely watched after the district court in Uijeongbu, just north of Seoul, ruled Tuesday that it is legal for authorities to restrain the campaign if it puts the lives of South Koreans at risk. [Yonhap]
