We are Collecting Signatures for the Release of Mr. Lee Jeong-hoon Who is Facing a Severe Political Oppression in the form of grave Human Rights Violations UNDER the 80 Years-old Draconian [so-called] “National Security Law” in Seoul

Petition for the Release of Research Fellow Lee Jeong-hoon of the Institute for the Era of Reunification

To the conscientious intellectuals and journalists of the world living in this era, we earnestly appeal to you.

On November 12, 2025, the Criminal Division 18 Single Judge Panel of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Yoon Young-soo) sentenced Research Fellow Lee Jeong-hoon of the Institute for the Era of Reunification to five years in prison and five years of disqualification from civil rights, and ordered his immediate detention in court.

He was convicted under the National Security Act for the charges of praise and incitement, meeting and communication, and the production and distribution of enemy-benefiting materials.

This case began in May 2021 when South Korea’s secret police (the National Intelligence Service) arrested and detained Research Fellow Lee Jeong-hoon, initiating the trial.

He was released in December of that year due to the expiration of his detention period, and the trial has continued for four years since. Over the course of the proceedings, the presiding judge changed three times.

In the meantime, the situation between North and South Korea has fundamentally changed. North Korea has officially declared, both domestically and internationally, that it recognizes the South as a separate state and has abandoned its theory of federal reunification.

This has undermined the very premise of the National Security Act. Nevertheless, the first trial court has unjustly detained Research Fellow Lee based on the outdated standard of the National Security Act. We express our deep outrage and earnestly petition for his immediate release.

Since the martial law declaration by President Yoon Suk-yeol in 2024, the world has been watching how South Korean civil society is striving to protect democracy.

Historically, National Security Act in Korea has been used merely as a means to violently suppress political opposition and maintain power. Its essence lies in the repression of conscience and freedom of expression.

International human rights law limits restrictions on freedom of expression to situations where the speech in question poses a clear and present danger of specific, imminent violence or harm.

The National Security Act of South Korea has earned notoriety for its serious violations of international human rights and the principles of the rule of law in its application. The international community emphasizes the importance of legal clarity and predictability for citizens.

Accordingly, the UN Human Rights Committee has repeatedly recommended that South Korea either abolish or revise the National Security Act. In particular, it has made repeated recommendations to abolish Article 7 (praise and incitement, etc.) of the Act.

The U.S. government also officially recommended in May 2008, during a session of the UN Human Rights Council, that the South Korean government revise the Act to prevent its abuse.

In 2023, the UN Human Rights Committee again recommended the abolition or revision of Article 7 following its review of South Korea’s fifth periodic report.

The first trial court (Presiding Judge Yoon Young-soo) disregarded the academic and theoretical context of Research Fellow Lee’s writings, and excessively broadened the interpretation of “pro-enemy” simply because they contained content related to North Korea.

This poses a grave threat to the global community of intellectuals, which embraces broad freedoms of conscience, belief, academic pursuit, and thought.

This case is not merely a criminal verdict—it is a brutal challenge to the global community of conscientious and democratic intellectuals who have overcome countless hardships in the struggle for democracy, freedom of expression, and academic freedom.

The ruling by the Criminal Division 18 Single Judge Panel of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Yoon Young-soo) symbolically demonstrates how individual courts are resisting the maintenance and growth of democracy in South Korea in the aftermath of the martial law declaration.

Research Fellow Lee Jeong-hoon has consistently asserted that the case was fabricated by the National Intelligence Service using “non-existent organizations” and “manipulated evidence,” and has maintained his position by calling on the judiciary to “wake up.”

As a scholar who has dedicated his life to the unification movement and critical research on the division system, his writings were part of an academic effort to understand North Korea more accurately, face the reality of inter-Korean relations, and seek peaceful reunification.

He merely analyzed the reality of division and sought ways for peaceful reunification based on his beliefs—he never acted with the intent of threatening the existence or security of the Republic of Korea.

To the conscientious intellectuals and journalists of the international community, we earnestly appeal to you to join this petition movement so that the trial of Research Fellow Lee Jeong-hoon is not judged through the outdated lens of the Cold War, but through the international standards of peace and human rights.

We ask for your support in overturning the first trial’s verdict and freeing him from the shackles of the National Security Act, so that he may enjoy freedom of expression and academic inquiry.

The release of Research Fellow Lee Jeong-hoon will not simply be the salvation of an individual, but a historic turning point that elevates the level of democracy and human rights in the Republic of Korea.

January 2026

Committee for the Release of Mr. Lee Jeong-hoon and all Petitioners,

Seoul, Korea 

Published by Committee for the Release of Mr. Lee Jeong-hoon and all Petitioners

Republished by The 21st Century