Internet censorship in South Korea

During the military dictatorships of Park Chung-hee and Chun Doo-hwan (1961–1987), anti-government speech was frequently suppressed with reference to the National Security Act (NSA, 1948) and the Basic Press Law (1980). Although the Basic Press Law was abolished in 1987, the NSA remains in effect. ==Political censorship==

Freedom to criticize government leaders, policies, and the military is limited to the extent that it "endangers national security" or is considered by censors to be "cyber defamation". In August 2010, the South Korean government blocked a Twitter account operated by the North. A further 83 South Koreans were arrested for distributing pro-North material on the Internet. South Korean president Lee Myung-bak's 2011 policies included cracking down on pro-North Korean comments on social network sites like Facebook and Twitter. ==Nudity and obscenity==

The Government of South Korea practiced censorship of gay-content websites from 2001 to 2003, through its Information and Communications Ethics Committee (정보통신윤리위원회), an official organ of the Ministry of Information and Communication, under its category of "obscenity and perversion"; for example, it shut down the website ex-zone, a website about gay and lesbian issues, in 2001. Since 2008, attempts by anybody to access "indecent Internet sites" featuring unrated games, pornography, gambling, etc., are automatically redirected to a warning page which states "This site is legally blocked by the government regulations." This is despite the fact that under South Korean law, purchasing, possessing, or viewing pornography is not illegal, unless the video or image was filmed or distributed without the consent of persons depicted, or contains minors. There is criticism that sites that only deal with pornography that is filmed, produced, and distributed with voluntary consent, and even sites that only deal with cartoon pornography featuring only characters who are 19 or older, or who appear to be such, are subject to blanket blocking. ==Criticism==

The 2009 modification of the copyright law of South Korea introducing the three strikes policy has generated criticism, including regarding Internet freedoms and censorship. In contrast, South Korea is enforcing a blanket blocking policy, which is violating the sexual freedom of adults. This is why criticism is being raised that it is a similar idea to the "Confucian Taliban" (유교 탈레반, Yugyo talleban). ==Comparison with China==

Like China, South Korea blocks pornographic and similar websites, which has been the subject of criticism. Some argue that internet censorship in South Korea is no different from the internet censorship in China. But the level of internet censorship in South Korea is lighter than that of China. While China regulates even VPNs and other means of circumvention, South Korea doesn't. In 2017, the Chinese government effectively outlawed VPNs, which allow for bypassing internet blocks. Under the measures of the Chinese government, services such as VPNs are prohibited from providing overseas internet access without approval from telecommunications authorities. South Korea's political internet censorship is limited to propaganda spread by, or domestic support for, North Korea. Major sites that are blocked in China, but not in South Korea, include Google, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. Additionally, unlike China, South Korea does not block American and European media outlets. Although the production and distribution of pornography (for distribution purposes) are prohibited in South Korea and China, the scope of permitted erotic creative works in South Korea is wider than in China. Since the 2010s, regulations have been relaxed in South Korea, and erotic works (including those that directly depict sexual acts) that were previously illegal have been legally classified as "harmful media for youth" (청소년유해매체물), primarily in the form of webtoons, subject to mandatory age verification. Of course, there are restrictions, so the genitals cannot be exposed (and cannot be blurred). Furthermore, legal penalties for distributing pornography are more lenient in South Korea. In South Korea, the statutory penalty for producing or distributing sexual videos or images is a prison sentence of up to 1 year or a fine of up to 10 million won, unless the video or images were produced without consent or involve minors. This is pursuant to Article 44-7 of the "Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Untilization and Information Protection" (정보통신망 이용촉진 및 정보보호 등에 관한 법률) and Article 74 of the same Act. The actual application of the law is also lenient. As of the 2020s, at least, there have been no cases of improsonment. As of 2023, there have been cases of fines. Conversely, China is stricter on punishment than South Korea. According to relevant provisions of the China's Criminal Code, the basic penalty is imprisonment of up to 3 years or a fine, and in serious cases, imprisonment of at least 3 years and up to 10 years is possible. This policy led to the indictment of animator Shirakami, who created cartoon pornography featuring characters from Final Fantasy VII and Genshin Impact, by Chinese police, and many Chinese artists have ceased their activities. In June 2024, China's authority arrested dozen of adult web novel writers for writing on the adult web novel platform in Taiwan. Only some paid hefty fines, while others were sentenced to prison terms. ==See also==