Patriotic citizens took to the streets to protest on the 2nd, as lawmakers from the ruling party jointly proposed abolishing the National Security Act. Captured by Channel A News.

The ruling party lawmakers who proposed the abolition of the National Security Act have been collectively reported to the police.

The civic group Committee for the People's Livelihood (Co-Chair: Kim Soon-hwan) announced on the 10th that it has filed a complaint with the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency against 31 ruling party lawmakers, including Rep. Min Hyung-bae of the Democratic Party of Korea, Rep. Kim Jun-hyung of the Jo Guk Innovation Party, and Rep. Yoon Jong-oh of the Progressive Party, for abuse of power and sedition, for jointly proposing the abolition of the National Security Act.

In its complaint, the committee cited recent security incidents as grounds, stating, "The proposal to abolish the National Security Act is a grave matter that threatens the nation's existence and the safety of its citizens. This legislative act goes beyond mere legislative activity and constitutes violations of Article 87 (Sedition) and Article 123 (Abuse of Power) of the Criminal Act."

On the 2nd, 31 ruling party lawmakers submitted a bill to abolish the National Security Act, stating, "The National Security Act has been criticized as an evil law that suppressed freedom of thought, inheriting the Public Order Maintenance Law of the Japanese Empire at the time of its enactment. Most provisions of the National Security Act can already be replaced by the Criminal Act, and they can also be sufficiently regulated by related laws such as the Act on Inter-Korean Exchange and Cooperation."

In response, the committee argued, "The Constitutional Court has maintained its constitutionality decisions since the 1990s due to North Korea's continued hostile strategy and the existence of similar legislation in other countries. A public opinion poll on July 8th also showed that the majority of citizens opposed the abolition of the National Security Act, and it is a fact that spies exist in our society (as confirmed by the Supreme Court's final ruling on the North Korean espionage ring case on September 25th)." The committee dismissed the abolition of the National Security Act as absurd.

Furthermore, the committee stated, "North Korean hackers, identified as being behind hacking organizations under North Korea's General Reconnaissance Bureau, are not hesitating to use any means, such as hacking the mobile phones of defectors' youth counselors to remotely control them and stealing '44.5 billion won in virtual assets from cryptocurrency exchanges.' The unauthorized small payment incident at KT was found to have Chinese individuals as the masterminds, and a Chinese employee at Coupang stole 33.7 million pieces of personal information and fled to China. If we do not take strict action, we cannot protect the precious assets and safety of our citizens." The committee declared that the proposal to "completely abolish the National Security Act" constitutes abuse of power and sedition.

The accused lawmakers include △Min Hyung-bae, Kim Jun-hyuk, Kim Woo-young, Lee Jae-gang, Moon Jung-bok, Jo Gye-won, Shin Young-dae, Kim Jung-ho, Kim Sang-wook, Lee Hak-young, Lee Ki-heon, Kim Yong-min, Lee Ju-hee, Lee Jae-jung, Yang Moon-seok (15 from the Democratic Party of Korea) △Kim Jun-hyung, Kim Sun-min, Jung Chun-saeng, Kim Jae-won, Lee Hae-min, Shin Jang-sik, Kang Kyung-sook, Park Eun-jung, Cha Gyu-geun (9 from the Jo Guk Innovation Party) △Yoon Jong-oh, Jeon Jong-deok, Son Sol, Jung Hye-kyung (4 from the Progressive Party) △Yong Hye-in (1 from the Basic Income Party) △Han Chang-min (1 from the Social Democratic Party) △Choi Hyuk-jin (1 independent), totaling 31 individuals.

It is understood that the committee argued for the charge of sedition based on the grounds that the National Security Act is not merely a penal law but a 'safety net for the protection of the system,' and its abolition could shake the nation's values and legal order.

Editorial Department, Hankook-Ilbo