Appeals court backs expulsion of Korean-American over pro-NK remarks

A Seoul appeals court on Wednesday rejected a suit filed by a Korean-American woman to nullify the government's expulsion of her for making pro-North Korea remarks during her talk shows in 2014.

The Seoul High Court upheld last year's lower court ruling in favor of the government decision, citing concerns that she could harm the country's national interests. 

Shin Eun-mi was accused in late 2014 by conservative civic groups of violating the National Security Law by making comments sympathetic to the communist regime at on-stage talk shows she hosted in Seoul and other cities. The security law bans any activities that praise or sympathize with the North.

Shin Eun-mi, a Korean-American woman who was expelled from South Korea for her pro-North Korea remarks in 2014, gives a talk in Tokyo, Japan (Yonhap)

The prosecution suspended her indictment. But the Ministry of Justice decided to expel her and bar her entry for five years. By law, a foreigner can be forced out of the country when he or she has the potential to undermine the country's interests or public safety. 

After the expulsion order was executed in 2015, Shin filed the lawsuit against the chief of the Seoul Immigration Office to void the order. (Yonhap)