Parties Ponder Changes to National Security Law

Now that a revision of South Korea's National Security Law looks inevitable after the inter-Korea summit talks, both the ruling and opposition parties are looking at possible changes to the controversial law.

The Millennium Democratic Party (MDP) is studying a plan to replace the existing law with an altogether new version, while the opposition Grand National Party (GNP) is saying that the South's revision of some articles in the National Security Law should be accompanied by revisions in laws set by North Korea's Workers' Party.

MDP chief policymaker Lee Hai-chan says, "It's necessary for us to debate the National Security Law and the issue of long-term prisoners who do not renounce communist ideologies. Rather than approaching them separately, we will discuss them in a larger framework of refurbishing all laws concerning North Korea."

Kim Hak-won, spokesman for the ULD, says, "We've heard from party members and have decided to change the party's stance on opposing revisions to the National Security Law."

Another spokesman for the party, Kwon Chul-hyun, says of the shift in party line, "We agree to the repeal of the law that makes it a crime to remain silent on another's pro-communist's beliefs, but we should be careful when it comes to touching the backbone of the National Security Law, such as laws against anti-state groups. According to the laws of reciprocity, we should only change laws when North Korea is willing to change related laws in the Stalinist state."

by Kim Jung-wook