Time to Reveal NSA’s spying : S. Korean Government and National Assembly Should Take Action

 

July 5th, 2013

Korean Progressive Network ‘Jinbonet’

 

 

Since June 5th, the leaks on various NSA spying programs by the United States National Security Agency (NSA) has been continued. 

 

Especially the ‘PRISM’ scandal shocked Korean civil society a lot, which is a indiscriminate electronic interception program against international users by the NSA with collaboration from global internet services including Google and Facebook which are also widely used in South Korea. 

 

On 30 June, moreover, the new leaks revealed that the NSA has tapped 38 embassies and missions in Washington, D.C. including the South Korean embassy.

 

While the exact range of surveillance has not been come out yet, it is obvious that the US government, with US based internet or telecommunications companies which have global impact, has been monitoring the whole world.

 

However, the US government has disappointed the world citizens with poor excuses that the surveillance was done legitimately or that they are not the only one doing it.

 

Korean civil society is also disappointed in the South Korean government who hesitates to take action and tries to read US face even after it is said that US tapped its embassy.

 

We Jinbonet, as a Korean NGO for digital rights, express our deep concern and anger against those shameless surveillance by the US intelligence agency.

 

No one’s civil liberties, ensured by international standards on human rights, can be violated by reason of nationality; everyone should be assured his/her dignity without being degraded to an object of surveillance.

 

The world citizens need to take this opportunity to reflect on the possibility of enormous violation of human rights from various technologies and laws introduced for surveillance in the reason of anti-terrorism or national security.

 

The US must clear up the truth immediately in front of the whole world and it ought to apologize for the ascertained facts.

 

Furthermore civil societies and governments around the world should stand up together for preventing the same situation. The South Korean government and National Assembly need to take action as it turns out to be one of the victims.

 

We urge the South Korean government and National Assembly to : 

 

1. Make efforts to grasp the reality of the surveillance on Korean people by the US government and internet/telecommunications companies as well as the reported tapping on the Korean embassy; 

2. Demand the US to clear up the truth and to take measures to prevent the recurrence of the scandal;

3. Participate in the international efforts to prevent the recurrence; and 

4. Cooperate with international community taking a humanitarian action to protect Snowden, the whistle-blower who made these violations public.