Open Letter to the US Congress Human Rights Commission by Governor Kim Opposing South Korea’s Anti-Leaflet Law Criminalizing Leaflet Sending to North Korea
2021-2-3, KIM Moon-soo (Former Governor of Gyeonggi Province, Republic of Korea)
Kim Moon-soo, former governor of Gyeonggi Province in South Korea, opposes the ruling party-passed law that criminalizes defectors and human rights organizations for sending leaflets to North Korea. The below is the letter in English and Korean.
—
The Honorable Christopher H. Smith Co-Chair, Tom Lantos
Human Rights Commission House Committee on Foreign Affairs
5100 O’Neill House Office Building 200 C Street SW
Washington, D.C. 20515
United States of America
W/copies to: Chairman Bob Menendez, U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations
Chairman Gregory Meeks, U.S. House of Representatives Committee on International Relations
His Excellency, U.S. Ambassador to Korea
His Excellency Simon Smith, British Ambassador to Korea
Her Excellency Maria Castillo-Fernandez, E.U. Ambassador to Korea
The Honorable Antonio Guterres, U.N. Secretary-General
The Honorable Tomás Ojea Quintana, Special Rapporteur, U.N. Human Rights Council
Dear Congressman Smith:
Please accept cordial greetings from the Republic of Korea.
My name is KIM Moon-soo, and I have served as a member of the Korean National Assembly (1996-2006) and as Governor of Gyeonggi Province (2006-2014).
I also had the privilege of introducing the North Korean Human Rights Act to the Korean National Assembly on August 11, 2005, which was eventually passed on March 3, 2016, after a prolonged 11-year struggle.
I strongly oppose the amendment that has been made to the Korean Law on the Development of Inter-Korean Relations Act (Anti-Leaflet Law) as pushed through and enacted by President Moon Jae-in and the Korean Democratic Party in December 2020.
I believe this law violates the Constitution of the Republic of Korea, contravenes the U.N. Universal Declaration of Human Rights, violates the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights as signed by both South Korea and North Korea, and defies the U.N. Resolution on North Korean Human Rights.
Furthermore, I strongly disagree with the letter issued by the current Governor of Gyeonggi Province, LEE Jae-myeong, who asserts that the Anti-Leaflet Law is necessary for Gyeonggi Province as it serves to protect the lives and properties of residents living near the Korean Demilitarized Zone while offering a peaceful means of avoiding military confrontations with the North.
Governor Lee’s pronouncement that such leaflets present a military risk and can lead to war is a falsehood and exaggeration without basis in either truth or reality.
More than two-thirds of the U.S. Forces operating in Korea are stationed in Gyeonggi Province, where they have been present for over 70 years. The commander of the U.S. Forces in Korea can more accurately attest to the military situation on the Korean Peninsula.
The assertion that all residents of Gyeonggi Province welcome the Anti-Leaflet Law is an outright exaggeration and a lie.
Additionally, the claim that South Koreans regard the concerns of the U.S. Congress with the Anti-Leaflet Law in South Korea as foreign interference is far from the truth.
The majority of South Koreans, including myself, support the U.S. Forces stationed in South Korea and are grateful that U.S. Congress passed the 2004 North Korean Human Rights Act.
The Anti-Leaflet Law was undertaken under direct orders by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Kim Jong-un despises these leaflets, but they are a publication of freedom and human rights which represent the only source of news and hope for the North Korean people.
We would like to thank you again, Mr. Chairman, and your colleagues in the U.S. Congress for your decades-long efforts to improve the deplorable human rights conditions in North Korea.
Sincerely yours,
KIM Moon-soo
Former Governor of Gyeonggi Province
Republic of Korea
수신: 미국 하원 톰 랜토스 인권위원회 공동위원장, 미 상·하원 외교위원회 각 위원장, 주한미국대사대리, 주한영국대사, 주한EU대표부대사 및 UN사무총장, UN북한인권특별보고관 등
존경하는 크리스토퍼 스미스 미연방 하원 톰 랜토스 인권위원회 공동위원장님께
1. 저는 2005년 8월 11일 북한인권법안을 국회의원으로서 대표발의하고, 2006년부터 2014년까지 8년간 재선 경기도지사로서 일했습니다.
2. 저는 문재인 대통령과 더불어민주당이 제정한 <대북전단금지법> (남북관계발전에관한법률)이 대한민국헌법 위반이며, 세계인권선언 위반이고, 남북한이 모두 가입한 자유권규약(ICCPR) 위반이자, 유엔북한인권결의 위반이기 때문에 반대합니다.
3. 특히 대북전단금지법이 경기도 접경지역 도민의 생명과 안전 및 재산권을 보호하기 위한 최소한의 장치이며, 북측과의 불필요한 군사적 대결을 예방할 수 있는 평화적 수단이기 때문에, 경기도의 입장에서 꼭 필요하다는 이재명 경기도지사의 서한에 반대합니다.
4. 경기도는 접경지역으로서 대북전단을 살포하는 행위는 군사적으로 매우 민감한 행위이며, 바로 전쟁으로 이어질 수 있다는 주장은 사실과 다른 거짓과 과장에 지나지 않습니다.
5. 경기도에는 주한미군의 2/3이상이 70년간 주둔하고 있기 때문에 주한미군사령관이 정확한 증언을 할 수 있을 것입니다.
6. <대북전단금지법>을 경기도민 모두 한마음으로 환영한다는 주장은 과장과 거짓에 불과합니다.
7. 미국 의회의 <대북전단금지법>에 대한 우려가 대한민국의 주권 행사를 가로막을 소지가 다분하다는 주장은 사실과 다릅니다.
저와 대부분의 대한민국 국민들은 주한미군 주둔과 미국 의회의 2004년 북한인권법 제정을 환영하며 감사하고 있습니다.
8. <대북전단금지법>은 김정은하명법입니다.
대북전단은 김정은이 가장 싫어하는 표현물이지만, 캄캄한 어둠 속에서 신음하는 북한주민들이 가장 반기는 자유와 인권의 표현물입니다.
다시 한번 귀하와 미국이 대한민국의 동맹국으로서 세계최악의 북한인권에 지대한 관심을 가지고 노력하심에 깊이 감사드립니다.
2021년 2월 3일 전 경기도지사 김문수
