South Korea Gone Too Far

Everyone knows that the government of South Korea has been frustrated its biased news report. But it has gone too far. The Central Local Prosecutors Office in Seoul indicted the former Bureau Chief of a Japanese newspaper, Sankei Shimbun, with suspect of violation against Availability of Information Network and Information Protection Law on Wednesday. It is obviously a violation of freedom of speech. It does not improve already highly complicated bilateral relationship between Japan and South Korea, rending Shinzo Abe administration another cause of accusing South Korea.

The reason of prosecution for the former Sankei Bureau Chief, Tatsuya Kato, is defamation of character. He uploaded a column article in August, which indicated South Korean President, Park Geun-hye, had privately been with unidentified man on the day hundreds of high school students were killed in sinking ship in the sea southwest of Korean Peninsula. Conservative group were furious against the report. It is likely that the government felt pressure from internal opinions.

Sankei released its statement on its front page on Thursday, which required immediate abolition of that legal procedure. It asserted that the indictment was violation of freedom of speech guaranteed by democratic nations including Japan and, needless to say, South Korea. “We cannot help question why it is allowed for South Korean government to penalize on an article written by Japanese news media toward Japanese people in Japanese language,” said the statement. Although almost nobody cares living without Sankei Shimbun, South Korean government was wrong in dealing with that news organization.

According to Sankei, Foreign Minister of Japan, Fumio Kishida, released a comment that he was concerning and regretful about the incident that was related to freedom of report and Japan-South Korea bilateral relationship. No, Mr. Foreign Minister with reputation of always reading paper prepared by diplomatic bureaucrats. It should not be escalated to the level of bilateral diplomatic relationship. Problem of freedom speech should be solved by freedom of speech.

That attitude of South Korean government may encourage discriminative tendency of Japanese society. Although United Nations Human Rights Committee urged Japanese government to restrict hate speeches against Korean Japanese exercised by ultra conservative groups, Abe administration has been reluctant to make necessary legislation. Anti-Korean sentiment in Japan may gain power in terms of argument over comfort woman. There is nothing good for South Korea to increase adversary inside Japan.