A South Korean man could be facing up to seven years in jail for retweeting messages from North Korea. Park Jeong-Geun, 24, broadcast the message “Long Live Kim Jong-il,” which originated from @uriminzok, an account that the North Korean government has been using since 2010. Mr Park, however, is a member of the Socialist Party of South Korea, known for its anti-North views, and claims he was acting in satire. Amnesty International is calling for his release, accusing the South Korean government of “failing to understand sarcasm,” in a country where the National Security Law makes praise of its isolated, communist neighbor a criminal act. The @uriminzok account is frequently retweeted by Korean users, though, meaning incidents like this may become increasingly difficult to police.
South Korean man indicted over North Korea retweet, facing seven years in jail
A South Korean man could be facing up to seven years in jail for ironically retweeting a message from the North Korean government’s Twitter feed. Praising North Korea is illegal in the South.
A South Korean man could be facing up to seven years in jail for ironically retweeting a message from the North Korean government’s Twitter feed. Praising North Korea is illegal in the South.
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