acknowledging that his activities could be beneficial to North Korea. – The prohibited acts and the concepts spelled out in paragraphs 1 and 5 of article 7 of the National Security Law are defined in such broad and ambiguous terms that these provisions violated the principle of legality, that is, article 21, paragraph 1, of the Constitution, which provides that freedoms and rights of citizens may be restricted by law only when absolutely necessary for national security, maintenance of law and order, public welfare, and that such restrictions may not violate essential aspects of fundamental rights; and 2.8 On 10 May 1991, the National Assembly passed a number of amendments to the National Security Law; paragraphs 1 and 5 of article 7 were amended by the addition of the words "with the knowledge that it will endanger national security or survival, or the free and democratic order" to the previous provisions. The complaint – In light of the findings of the Constitutional Court, the application of these provisions should be suspended for activities which carry no obvious danger for national security or the survival of democratic order. Since the incriminated material was not produced and distributed with the purpose of praising North Korea, and further does not contain any information which would obviously endanger either survival or security of the Republic of Korea, or its democratic order, the author should not be punished. 3.1 Counsel contends that although article 21, paragraph 1, of the Korean Constitution provides that "all citizens shall enjoy freedom of speech, press, assembly and association", article 7 of the National Security Law has often been applied to restrict freedom of thought, conscience or expression through speech or publication, by acts, association, etc. Under this provision, anyone who supports or thinks in positive terms about socialism, communism or the political system of North Korea is liable to punishment. It is further argued that there have been numerous cases in which this provision was applied to punish those who criticized government policies, because their criticism happened to be similar to that proffered by the North Korean regime against South Korea. In counsel's view, the author's case is a model of such abusive application of the National Security Law, in violation of article 19, paragraph 2, of the Covenant. 2.6 The appellate court upheld the conviction on the basis that the evidence showed that the author's written materials, which he read out at a large convention, argued that the Republic of Korea was under influence of foreign powers, defined the Government as a military dictatorship and contained other views which corresponded to North Korean propaganda. According to the Court the materials therefore advocated the policy of North Korea, and the first instance court had thus sufficient grounds to acknowledge that the author was siding with and benefiting an anti-State organization. 3.2 It is further argued that the courts' reasoning clearly shows how the National Security Law is manipulated to restrict freedom of expression, on the basis of the following considerations contrary to article 19 of the Covenant. First, the courts found that the author held opinions which were critical of the policies of the Government of the Republic of Korea; secondly, North Korea has criticized the Government of South Korea in that it distorts South Korean reality; thirdly, North Korea is characterized as an anti-State organization, which has been formed for the purpose of upstaging the government of South Korea (article 2 of the National Security Law); fourthly, the author wrote and published material containing criticism similar to that voiced by North Korea vis-à-vis South Korea; fifthly, the author must have known about that criticism; and, finally, the author's activities must have been undertaken for the benefit of North Korea and therefore amount to praise and encouragement of that country's regime. 2.7 On 26 April 1991, the Supreme Court held that the relevant provisions of the National Security Law did not violate the Constitution so long as they were applied to a case where an activity puts national survival and security at stake or endangers basic liberal democratic order. Thus under article 7 (1) "activity which sides with ... and benefits" an anti-State organization means that if such activity could be beneficial to that organization objectively, the prohibition applies. The prohibition is applicable, if a person with normal mentality, intelligence and common sense acknowledges that the activity in question could be beneficial to the anti-state organization, or if there is wilful recognition that it could be beneficial. According to the Supreme Court, this implies that it is not necessary for the person concerned to have intentional acknowledgement or motivation to be "beneficial". The court went on to hold that the author and his colleagues had produced material which can be recognised, as a whole and objectively, to side with North Korean propaganda and that the author, who has normal intelligence and common sense, read it out and supported it, thereby objectively 3.3 Counsel refers to the observations of the Human Rights Committee, which were adopted after consideration of the initial report of the Republic of Korea under article 40 of the Covenant. CCPR/C/79/Add.6, adopted during the Committee's 45th session (Oct.-Nov. 1992), paragraphs 6 and 9. 111