Censorship in South Korea

Censorship in South Korea is implemented by various laws that were included in the constitution as well as acts passed by the National Assembly over the decades since 1948. These include the National Security Act, whereby the government may limit the expression of ideas that it perceives "praise or incite the activities of anti-state individuals or groups".^[1] Censorship was particularly severe during the country's authoritarian era, with freedom of expression being non-existent, which lasted from 1948 to 1993.

However, ever since the inauguration of president Lee Myung-bak in 2008, South Korea has experienced a noticeable decline in freedom of expression for both journalists and the general public.^[2] South Korea's status beginning in the 2011 Freedom of the Press report from Freedom House has declined from "Free" to "Partly Free", a status that has continued to the present, reflecting an increase in official censorship and government attempts to influence news and information content.^[3]

During the presidency of Moon Jae-in, his administration further reinforced media censorship by snooping on SNI traffic.^[4] His party also passed a law meant to control the narrative of historical topics during the country's military authoritarian era such as the Gwangju Massacre, topics related to the comfort women issue, as well as events that negatively implicates the government such as the Sinking of MV Sewol.^[5]

The South Korean government has control in censorship over all media capable of reaching a wide audience. This includes television, print media, radio, film, theater, text messaging, instant messaging, video games, literature, and the Internet. The South Korean government asserts that it has the legal right to control the Internet's content within their territory and that their censorship rules do not infringe on their citizens' right to free speech. For example, the country bans pornography, and there exists a "cyber defamation law" which allows the authorities to crack down on comments deemed "hateful" without any reports from victims, with citizens being sentenced for such offenses.^[6]

^ Kraft, Diane (2006). "South Korea's National Security Law: A Tool of Oppression in an Insecure World". Wisconsin International Law Journal. 24: 627.
^ "South Korea : Polarization and self-censorship | Reporters without borders". RSF (in French). Retrieved 2018-03-02.
^ "South Korea". freedomhouse.org. 2012-01-13. Archived from the original on 2018-06-20. Retrieved 2018-03-02.
^ "Is South Korea Sliding Toward Digital Dictatorship?". Forbes. Retrieved 2019-05-27.
^ Sang-Hun, Choe (2021-07-18). "'Historical Distortions' Test South Korea's Commitment to Free Speech". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-09-20.
^ "South Korea: Criminal defamation provisions threaten freedom of expression". ARTICLE 19. 10 May 2018. Retrieved 28 March 2022.

[:0-1] Kraft, Diane (2006). "South Korea's National Security Law: A Tool of Oppression in an Insecure World". Wisconsin International Law Journal. 24: 627.

[:1-2] "South Korea : Polarization and self-censorship | Reporters without borders". RSF (in French). Retrieved 2018-03-02.

[3] "South Korea". freedomhouse.org. 2012-01-13. Archived from the original on 2018-06-20. Retrieved 2018-03-02.

[4] "Is South Korea Sliding Toward Digital Dictatorship?". Forbes. Retrieved 2019-05-27.

[:3-5] Sang-Hun, Choe (2021-07-18). "'Historical Distortions' Test South Korea's Commitment to Free Speech". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-09-20.

[6] "South Korea: Criminal defamation provisions threaten freedom of expression". ARTICLE 19. 10 May 2018. Retrieved 28 March 2022.

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