Korean Progressive Network 'Jinbonet'

The protracted Novartis’ appeal from 2006 for a patent to Gleevec (Leukemia medicine), and against Indian Patent law has finally reached a conclusion. On Apr1, Indian Supreme court dismissed Novartis’ appeal.

The Korean NGOs’ Association for Freedom of Expression1 is sending a joint letter to you regarding
situation of human rights defenders in the Republic of Korea focusing on their enjoyment of freedom
of opinion and expression, freedom of peaceful assembly and of association. It is to share our grave
concerns and update Special Rapporteurs on the situation, as a follow-up to the report submitted by
Mr. Frank La Rue to the UN Human Rights Council in 2011.

 Global Information Society Watch 2011 : Internet rights and democratization

On the 23rd of August 2012, South Korean digital rights organisation Jinbonet won a long struggle. For the last five years, the APC member group fought an internet real name system regulation. The Constitutional Court ruled unanimously against this regulation, that is part of a larger law known as “the network act”, arguing that it is unconstitutional to require people to authenticate their identity in order to post or comment on websites. South Korea was the only country in the world to have such regulation.

US and EU are threatening lives of people living with disease now. The India-EU FTA is an agreement which risk patients’ health none the more than the KORUS FTA. Especially, the India-EU FTA endangers lives of people living with disease all over the world. We urge the Lee Myoung-bak government to abolish KORUS FTA immediately as well as the India government to stop the India-EU FTA negotiation. We also call for the India Supreme Court to dismiss Swiss pharmaceutical company, Novartis’ case toward India’s progressive patent law.

JINBONET requests UN Human Rights Council’s attention on the situation of human rights and ICT in South Korea. In regard to freedom of expression on the internet, we recommend that Human Rights Council demands South Korean government to implement the recommendations from Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression.

In the main section of the report, the Special Rapporteur focuses on the following issues of concern: defamation, freedom of opinion and expression on the Internet, freedom of opinion and expression before elections, freedom of assembly, restrictions on freedom of expression on the basis of national security, freedom of opinion and expression of public officials, independence of the media, and the National Human Rights Commission of Korea.

The enactment of the Data Protection Act has been a long-cherished wish of many human rights organizations since the controversy over the electronic ID card began in 1996. The main point in this issue is the establishment of an independent data protection supervisory authority named the Korea Data Protection Commission. The Data Protection Commission, which could be considered as independent, seems to have been created, despite an obstacle of the Ministry of Public Administration and Security to further its own interests.

This report is produced as a part of a multi-national research project funded by the Open Network Initiative (ONI)

Full text of the press statement delivered by the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, Mr. Frank La Rue, after the conclusion of his visit to the Republic of Korea

April 2010
Joint Korean NGOs for the Official Visit of the Special Rapporteur to the Republic of Korea

CHAPTER 6. FREEDOM OF OPINION AND EXPRESSION AND THE INTERNET

The Korea-EU FTA must be dismantled. And the lives of patients in over 120 countries are on the line regarding the India-EU FTA. What will devastate the Pharmacy of the World must also be stopped.

this clause allows a criminal penalty without questioning whether the circulation of false information harms the public interest. That is, “false communication” itself can be punished. In addition, the biggest problem is that the clause has been exploited for political purposes.

Global Information Society Watch 2010 : ICTs and Environmental Sustainability – Country Report of South Korea

The dominant perception among many Koreans is that any downloading activities without the copyright owner’s permission is considered “illegal.” In fact though the Copyright Act of South Korea recognizes that reproduction of copyrighted works for private use is regarded as “fair use” under Article 30 of the Copyright of Act.

Follow-up Information on the Situation of Freedom of Expression and Opinion in Republic of Korea, submitted to UN Special Rapporteur

Mr. Frank La Rue, UN Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of the Right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression, is officially visiting Korea on May 2010. In light of his visit, Korean human rights social organizations have prepared the ―Report on the Realities of the Freedom of Expression, Two Years into the Lee Myeong-Bak Administration. The Korean human rights social organizations greatly welcome the Special Rapporteur‘s visit of Korea, and support and feel solidarity in his activities to protect human rights.

The followings are 1. a submitted written statement regarding the violation of the right to freedom of opinion and expression under the Lee Myung-bak administration to the Human Rights Council…

Global Information Society Watch 2009 : Access to online information and knowledge – Country Report of South Korea

A written statement submitted by the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC), a non-governmental organisation with general consultative status