“It will be a good opportunity to assess the progress in enhancing the right to freedom of expression in the Republic of Korea fifteen years since my predecessor visited the country, particularly in the current context where the use of the Internet has become widespread,” said Mr. La Rue, noting that the first visit by the Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression was to the Republic of Korea in 1995.
“During my mission, I will gather first-hand information on the situation of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, freedom of the media, and the related right to freedom of assembly and association,” said the independent expert. He added that the main purpose of the mission is to “contribute, through collaborative engagement with the Government, on ways and means of better enhancing the enjoyment of the rights related to my mandate in the country.”
The Special Rapporteur’s mission will take him to the cities of Seoul and Gwang-ju. Mr. La Rue, who will visit the country at the invitation of the Government, will meet with representatives of national and local authorities, and with members of the legislative and judicial branches. He will also hold discussions with non-governmental organizations, journalists and press organizations, and other organizations and individuals working in areas related to his mandate.
The visit is particularly timely for the expat community because news just broke that author and Korea Times columnist Michael Breen is being sued by Samsung for poking fun at their corrupt bosses over two sentences in a satirical year-end piece "What People Got For Christmas."
The talk will be held at the Gwangbok Hall Annex (광복관 별관, #28 on this campus map, or this one in Korean), and the campus is accessible by subway via Sinchon Station (신촌역).
5 comments:
A more naive person might hope for an honest discussion, but him being here on the invitation of the government which has a demonstrated proclivity for clamping down on free speech, especially on the internet, leads me to believe this will pretty much be a snow job of blizzard proportions.
I think South Korea gets a special pass because there is indeed much more freedom of expression here than say North Korea, but just imagine what would happen to students here if they did something like this:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/28/nyregion/28jersey.html
Thanks Brian.
The Yonsei Univ. flyer is here here.
The venue is located at number 28 on the map here.
UPDATE:
In addition to the Yonsei event, a press conference will also be held with the UN Special Rapporteur on Monday, May 17th at 10:30am on the 19th floor of the Korea Press Center Building, Taepyongno-1Ga, Jung-Gu, Seoul.
UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
The talk today at Yonsei was excellent. Mr. La Rue spoke in English with a Korean translator.
Today La Rue spoke quite a bit about the importance of the internet and bloggers, calling them important "reporters" and "the poor man's press". He spoke about the need for Korea to be an example for Asia and the world in this regard because of the high interconnectivity.
La Rue said the he was particularly interested in visiting Korea because of Internet issues. He said the Korean government had a commitment not only to protect individual's right to freedom of expression but also to promote it.
The Monday press conference is open to all. La Rue said he would take questions on anything. A reporter from the Korea Herald in the audience asked if he would discuss Samsung's suit against Breen. He said he would.
I wonder if any English language and/or Korean language bloggers will show up to cover this press conference. It might be a good chance to bring up some important issues (people seem to be feeling a chill lately) and to reaffirm the rights of citizens and non-citizens to express themselves on blogs.
There have been several examples of foreigners having their livelihoods or their visa status threatened because of an opinion expressed on a blog.
The last time Korea had a UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion in town was 15 years ago... This may be an ideal opportunity to address some important issues.
The Press Conference is Monday, May 17th at 10:30am on the 19th floor of the Korea Press Center Building, Taepyongno-1Ga, Jung-Gu, Seoul.
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