National Security Act (South Korea)
The National Security Act is a South Korean law with the avowed purpose "to restrict anti-state acts that endanger national security and to protect nation's safety and its people's life and freedom."
In 1948, it made communism illegal; recognition of North Korea as a political entity; organizations advocating the overthrow of the government; the printing, distributing, and ownership of "anti-government" material; and any failure to report such violations by others illegal. It has been reformed and strengthened over the past few decades, with the Anti-communism Law being merged with it during the 1980s.
This law has been acknowledged by some South Korean politicians and activists as a symbol of the anti-communism of South Korea's dictatorial First Republic and a potential restriction on freedom of speech. In 2004, legislators of the then-majority Uri Party made a gesture to annul the law, but failed in the face owing to Grand National Party opposition. Some poll results in 2004-2005 from the media cartel informally dubbed Chojoongdong show that more than half of the Korean people are against the abolition of the act and, so, the dispute continues.
Read more about National Security Act (South Korea): Administration, Military, Controversy, Criticism, Security Act Regarding North Korea, See Also
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