UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression Irene Khan sent a communication to the Korean government last Friday (August 27, 2021) expressing concerns about the Press Arbitration Act amendment and requesting clarification, and the communication was published this morning through the official UN website. A communication is a procedure in which the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights requests clarification from a government to intervene in imminent and urgent human rights violations.
Open Net Korea requested that Special Rapporteur Khan issue an urgent communication on August 22 through former Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression David Kaye, with whom they had closely cooperated on the situation of freedom of expression in Korea, and it is understood that other civil society organizations including the Transitional Justice Working Group also filed petitions. In response, Special Rapporteur Khan expressed concern about the severity of this amendment, which stipulates punitive damages for press and expression as well as presumption of intent and gross negligence, and exceptionally swiftly sent an official letter.
Through this communication, Special Rapporteur Khan stated that the Press Arbitration Act amendment being pursued in Korea defines the subjects of regulation in an overly broad and vague manner, enabling arbitrary law enforcement and application, and by including provisions for punitive damages together with broadly presuming intent and gross negligence, it intensifies self-censorship and burdens on the press, raising concerns that it excessively chills freedom of the press and expression in violation of Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), an international human rights law that the Korean government is obligated to comply with.
In particular, she stated that “the human right to impart information and ideas is not limited to correct statements, and protects information and ideas that may shock, offend, and disturb,” and that “the right to express ill-founded opinions or propositions must also be protected,” noting that regulation solely on the grounds that a proposition is false contradicts these international human rights standards on freedom of expression. She specifically pointed out that “infringement of personality rights or mental distress” are unclear requirements and the regulation appears to fail to meet international human rights law standards that expression regulation must be clearly and specifically defined. She clearly opposed the attempt to impose civil liability by creating a new concept of ‘false or fabricated reporting’ different from existing defamation regulations. She also stated that the provision presuming intent and gross negligence would place a burden on media organizations to disclose their sources, significantly chilling journalistic activities. She also pointed out that imposing liability even on information intermediaries such as internet news service providers would result in giving them ‘enormous power’ to conduct private censorship.
Open Net Korea strongly urges the government and National Assembly to seriously consider the concerns of the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and comprehensively review the Media Arbitration Act amendment.
Korean Version Text
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