Middle school teachers held under National Security Law

Two teachers have been detained by police after prosecutors charged them with violating the National Security Law.

The maximum penalty under the law is death.

Choi Hwa-seop, who teaches at Oryun Middle School, and Kim Maeng-gyu, who teaches at Cheongdam Middle School, have been held in isolation under the Seoul National Police Agency in Jangandong since January 18th.

Police raided the homes and offices of the teachers on January 12th. The police then requested that they appear for questioning. The teachers responded that they were consulting a lawyer, and that they intended to appear on January 22nd. The police agreed to this.

However, police were told to arrest the teachers on January 18th. Prosecutor Kin Sin stated that if the teachers were not in custody, they might attempt to contact an underground North Korean group, and that they would in any case brainwash innocent young students with reunification education. District Court judge Kim Jin-dong approved the arrest warrant.

In October, 2000, Choi Hwa-seop was awarded a top prize by the Ministry of Education for his work in reunification education. In 2005, Kim Maeng-gyu collaborated with a North Korean teacher in lessons that were reported by Korean media as superior examples of reunification education. These lessons were supported by both the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Reunification.

Both teachers have chaired the reunification committee of the Korean Teachers Union.

The National Security Law has often been used to control dissent in the labor movement and to stifle political debate. Amnesty International and many other organizations have repeatedly called for reform of the law to allow for basic rights to speech and association.

2007.01.22
Korean Teachers Union (Hwang Hyun-su and Kim Seok Cho)

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