On August 28-31, Institute for People’s Constitution from the “Republic of Korea (ROK)” participated in the conference hosted by the COLAP (Confederation of Lawyers of Asia and the Pacific). The Institute took part in various workshops including “Peace and Imperialism”, Security legislation: “the Anti-Terrorism Act and the National Security Act” and exposed the dangers posed by the strengthened U.S.-Japan-“ROK” military alliance, its joint military drills on the Korean Peninsula and in the Western Pacific, and the provocations that lead to war in the “ROK” and the Western Pacific initiated by the Yoon administration.
At the conference’s closing ceremony on August 31, the Institute revealed the public security repression against the people’s democratic forces. On August 30,
the National Security Investigation Division of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency raided the search and seizure the offices and members’ private residence of the PDP, the Anti-Japan Action, and the Institute for People’s Constitution affiliated with IADL, COLAP. During the closing ceremony, the Institute reiterated the unconstitutionality and fascist nature of the National Security Act. The global peace-loving forces, progressive lawyers who participated the conference, expressed deep concern over the Yoon government’s use of the National Security Act and other fascist repression organs, fully endorsing the urgently proposed statement.
COLAP has repeatedly recommended the abolition of the infamous and fascist evil act, the National Security Act, and has issued numerous statements urging to halt the fascist repression against the forces advocating for national independence and peaceful reunification in the “ROK”. COLAP affirmed its commitment to sharing the current situtation with lawyers not only in Asia and Pacific, but also in worldwide and to widely disseminating the statement urging the Yoon government to stop its fascist repression against the people’s democratic forces in the “ROK”.
While on the first day of the conference, during the workshop “Peace and Imperialism”, at the speech of the Institute for People’s Constitution, they emphasized that “The storm of World War 3, instigated by the imperialist camp, is blowing through Eastern Europe and Western Asia (Middle East) to the Pacific Ocean. The war in Ukraine, which began in February 2022, is now expanding to Eastern Europe, and the war in West Asia, which began in October 2023 with the war in Palestine, has reached an explosive point as of August 2024.”, “Yoon Suk-yeol, the war puppet of the US imperialist aggressors, continues to raise the level of war in the “ROK”.”, “he has encouraged North Korean defector groups to distribute leaflets to the North and has revived the broadcasting loudspeakers against North Korea and wage the psychological warfare seriously. US strategic asset weapon systems, which were deployed to the Korean Peninsula nine times in 2023, have appeared six times in three months from April this year.”
The urgent statement from the Institute for People’s Constitute as like below:
Immediately Stop the Fascist Repression Against the People’s Democratic Forces!
The Yoon Suk-yeol government is carrying out public security repression of the People’s Democratic forces, including People’s Democracy Party (PDP) and Institute for People’s Constitution which belongs to the IADL (International Association of Democratic Lawyers) and COLAP (Confederation of Lawyers of Asia and the Pacific). In the morning of August 30, at around 7 a.m., the National Security Investigation Division of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency raided the offices and the houses of the PDP representatives and the party concerned, alleging violations of Article 7 (Sections 1, 3, and 5) of the National Security Act (NSA). During the search, the police unlawfully detained party members not named in the warrant, damaged property, and committed illegal, violent, and inhumane acts. The content of the warrant was also extremely malicious. To manipulate the case, the Yoon government forced a connection between the PDP and the Corean Alliance for Independence, Reunification and Democracy (Corean Alliance), a victim organization under the NSA targeted by the Park Geun-hye fascist regime in 2014. The reason for linking the PDP with the Corean Alliance, which disbanded in July 2016 and no longer exists, and whose organizational purpose and composition are fundamentally different, is glaringly obvious. The Yoon fascist government is committing an unconstitutional act denouncing the PDP which is the constitutional political party as one that “benefits the enemy”, unconstitutionally using the NSA that is the fascist unjust law.
The need to abolish the NSA and dismantle the fascist repressive apparatus has been reaffirmed. The NSA’s Article 7 (Praise, Incitement, etc.) is infamous for violating the constitutionally guaranteed freedoms of thought and expression. The National Human Rights Commission of Korea has judged the NSA to be seriously problematic from the perspectives of international law, constitution, and human rights since 2004, and the UN Human Rights Council has repeatedly called for its abolition since 1992, citing its infringement of “the right to freedom of association” as outlined in International Covenants on Civil and Political Rights. The Security Investigation Department, which conducted the search and seizure on the PDP, is a successor of the infamous Security Investigation Unit known for investigating violence and torture, a part of the “counterintelligence” department of National Police Agency. President Yoon had mentioned “anti-state organization” on the 29th, the day before the crackdown. The public security authorities used the NSA and the Security Investigation Division to accuse the PDP of being an “anti-state organization,” which is not in violation of the law, proving the unconstitutionality and illegality of the NSA and the Security Investigation Division.
What is the intention behind Yoon’s fascist dictatorship manipulating the “PDP case” now? On August 15 and 19, President Yoon publicized notions of “unification of the system” and “unification by absorption”, which encourages South-North confrontation, while deepening the smear campaign against DPRK’s human rights and making reckless statements about “anti-freedom forces”, “anti-state forces”, “dark forces of instigation”. The fact that previous fascist regimes in the “Republic of Korea (ROK)”, before manipulating the fascist political situation, have fostered anti-North Korean confrontation and concentrated public security repression while scheming to label the forces advocating national independence and democratization movement as “anti-state forces”. Especially, it has been officially mentioned by the main opposition party and revealed through various related circumstances that Yoon, facing impeachment threats, is currently preparing for the extreme and shocking acts of fascist oppression. In short, the “PDP Case” appears to be a prelude to that fascist act of oppression.
“The PDP Case” is closely linked to the war policy of Yoon government. Under the situation of Third World War, US imperialism is provoking war to make the Western Pacific its third theater following Eastern Europe and Western Asia (the Middle East). Yoon is not only provoking war in the “ROK”, which will be a trigger of the Western Pacific war, but also focusing on the rear area cleanup by repressing the people’s democratic forces that are pursuing independence and peace. World democratic lawyers concern the fascist repression on the people’s democratic forces in “ROK” which treat East Asia, by extension, the world’s independence and peace, not just in democracy of “ROK” and call upon the Yoon government to stop the repression immediately, abolish the NSA, and remove the fascist oppressive apparatus. We will continue to fight for the realization of peace, development and democracy for the people of Asia as stated in the UN Charter.
