Korean Air pilot accused of posting pro-Pyongyang messages online


About 40 internet users, including a Korean Air pilot, are under investigation for their postings online that praise North Korea, which law enforcement authorities in the South view as a breach of the national security law.

According to multiple local reports and sources at the National Police Agency, many of the 40 are members of the pro-Pyongyang online forum called “Cyber Defense Command for the People.”

They include the pilot, an attorney, an army official and several government employees, they said.

The online community, which was originally run by a man surnamed Hwang, was shut down last June with the arrest of Hwang, but was reopened with a new IP address.

In the ongoing investigation, the pilot, a 44-year-old identified by his surname Kim, is accused of violating the National Security Law, by posting on his personal webpage some 60 pro-Pyongyang messages, including movie trailers allegedly produced in the communist state, police officials said.

Investigators have confiscated several books, including a biography of the late North Korean founder Kim Il-sung and computer files, in a raid of his home Tuesday. They plan to summon Kim for questioning after analyzing them.

Kim’s employer, the flag carrier Korean Air, has suspended his duty at the request of the police, which worry that he might defect to the North with a civilian airplane.

“It looks like most of the people have violated the National Security Law’s clause 1, which bans the praising of North Korea,

Under the National Security Law, anyone who knowingly supports or encourages anti-state entities or praises North Korea faces punishment of up to seven years in jail.

The crackdown comes after the country’s intelligence, prosecution and police authorities last month agreed to step up monitoring of pro-North Korean activities in cyberspace, which they said have mushroomed to a risky level over the past years.

Prosecutor General Han Sang-dae in his inaugural speech in August declared a war against pro-North Korea forces.

Over the past four years, police have nabbed some 358 people for anti-state activities, of them 119 for their online activities.

By Lee Sun-young (milaya@heraldcorp.com)