A retired professor is to stand trial for allegedly praising former North Korean leaders in breach of an anti-North Korea law.
The Seoul District Prosecutors' Office said on Friday that the 74-year-old, identified only by his surname Kim, has been indicted for posting 30 articles praising the governance of Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il on the Internet from March 2009 to September 2012.
Kim also gave a lecture supporting North Korea's nuclear program in April 2014 and was found to possess a total of 69 articles that are classified as benefiting the North, including a collection of Kim Jong-il's speeches, prosecutors said.
The retired professor has been studying North Korean ideologies such as its guiding philosophy "juche," after coming into contact with North Korean agents in April 2004 at a debate forum held in China, they said.
The National Security Law prohibits South Korean citizens from contacting North Koreans without government approval and engaging in activities benefiting the North. (Yonhap)