By Na Jeong-ju
Staff Reporter

The National Human Rights Commission of Korea Tuesday called on the government and the National Assembly to scrap the National Security Law, a legacy of anti-communism whose existence has been disputed amid increasing inter-Korean trade and exchange.

The commission said it has recommended Justice Minister Kim Seung-kyu and National Assembly Speaker Kim Won-ki make efforts to abolish the vaguely-worded law, which was established in 1948 by the pro-American government to defend the country from the threat of communist North Korea.

The recommendation came as political parties are preparing for serious debate on whether to scrap or revise the law, which has often been misused by previous governments to gag political dissidents and suppress the democratic movement.

The commission’s decision will give more backing to reformists who advocate the use of regular criminal laws to punish those threatening national security. A number of civic and human rights groups have demanded the law be abolished, saying it violates basic rights, such as freedom of speech and expression.

They argue the law has been misused to vilify democratic movements as anti-state activities, while conservative forces say South Korea still needs it since security conditions are still far from stable and many are concerned about a possible North Korean attack.

The commission has designated the security law as one of the top issues for the nation to tackle to improve human rights conditions. The state-run agency said the decision to recommend the scrapping of the security law was made on Monday by its task-force team, who has made an extensive review of the security law and cases where the law was inappropriately used.

The commission’s decision will be a critical reference when the National Assembly debates the issue. The legislature is expected to deal with the case in its general session that opens on Sept. 1.

Political parties have generally agreed that change to the security law is inevitable now relationships with North Korea are improving, but determining the scope of change is emerging as a hot issue.

The ruling Uri Party wants to abolish the security law and use criminal law to deal with anti-state activities, while the conservative opposition Grand National Party has demanded the law be kept with only a partial change. The reformist Democratic Labor Party has called for complete abolition.

jj@koreatimes.co.kr