Hwang Kyo-ahn, leader of the Freedom and Innovation Party. [Yonhap News]

Hwang Kyo-ahn, leader of the Freedom and Innovation Party, strongly criticized the police's search and seizure of Hanmi Ilbo.

Regarding the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's Financial Crimes Investigation Unit's search and seizure of Hanmi Ilbo's offices and the mobile phones of its publisher and editor on the 3rd, and the initiation of forced investigation by designating seven Hanmi Ilbo officials as suspects, Hwang posted a message on social media (SNS) titled "I Ask in the Name of the Constitution." He strongly rebuked the action, stating, "This is not an investigation, but a challenge to the Constitution."

Hwang stated, "A search and seizure of a media company should be the 'last resort' under the Constitution." He lamented, "A search and seizure of a media company is not merely a means to secure physical evidence, but the most powerful exercise of public authority that chills the entire media activity. Therefore, it should only be permitted within the minimal scope after all other means have been exhausted under the constitutional order."

He pointed out, "Even though the truthfulness of a report can be sufficiently debated through counterarguments, corrections, and civil liabilities, the immediate and comprehensive seizure of the media company's offices and reporters' mobile phones is a measure that directly violates the principles of proportionality and minimal infringement."

Hwang continued, "A search and seizure for the reason of an inconvenient report is in fact censorship." He argued, "The substantive motive for the search and seizure is clear. If it is an act of retribution for content that is inconvenient to those in power or for politically sensitive reports, it is merely disguised as an 'investigation into false reporting' but is actually an exercise of power against media critical of the regime."

He particularly warned, "If this logic is allowed, then any article that those in power claim is 'false,' and any report that is displeasing or politically burdensome, can be eliminated through criminal charges and search and seizure." He asserted, "This is the very definition of a preemptive and chilling effect on speech that the Constitution prohibits."

In addition, he stated, "Seizing mobile phones destroys the freedom of sources." He designated, "The most serious problem in this search and seizure is the seizure of mobile phones and digital devices of representatives and related personnel."

Hwang expressed strong concern, "This means the collapse of source protection, the silence of whistleblowers, and the impossibility of future reporting itself." He emphasized, "The freedom of the press guaranteed by law includes not only the freedom to write articles but also the freedom to investigate, receive tips, and protect internal information. If source protection collapses, the media cannot exist."

Furthermore, he warned of the severity of the issue, stating, "This incident is not a problem for one media company." He predicted, "Today it is Hanmi Ilbo, but tomorrow it will be another online media, the day after tomorrow it will be YouTube, and then individual social media." He warned that if this search and seizure is tolerated, the citizens of the Republic of Korea will say, "'If you speak, you will be investigated,' 'If you write, you will be seized,' and 'If you criticize, it becomes a crime.' This is not a free democratic country."

Hwang stated, "We must thoroughly examine whether this investigation and search and seizure violates Article 21 of the Constitution, whether it constitutes excessive or political investigation, and the state's responsibility for infringing on press freedom, and hold those responsible accountable." He criticized, "Freedom of expression is not a right granted by the state; it is a fundamental right that exists to check state power. The moment power infringes upon it, that nation is undermining the legitimacy of the Constitution itself."

Meanwhile, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's Financial Crimes Investigation Unit has initiated forced investigations by designating the publisher, editor, an external columnist, and a US-based American journalist as suspects on the grounds that they wrote critical articles about Lee Jae-myung and Kim Hyun-ji.

By Heo Gyeom