[KS] ROK Constitutional Court upholds the military's book ban, including HaJoon Chang

Mon Nov 1 06:52:19 EDT 2010

Let's not get overly excited. This ban applies only to soldiers on military 
installations. They can read/keep/shred/buy/sell/study/burn  the book anywhere 
else they wish, no problem. Anyway, it's unlikely the book would be terribly 
popular in the ranks. With any luck, they should be able to manage without it in 
the barracks, trenches, foxholes etc. while eagerly anticipating the fun 
of thumbing the pages while on leave.
Best,
Don Kirk

________________________________
From: "Afostercarter at aol.com" <Afostercarter at aol.com>
To: koreanstudies at koreaweb.ws; baks at jiscmail.ac.uk; Koreanstudies at koreaweb.ws; 
members at asck.org
Cc: devstud at lists.leeds.ac.uk
Sent: Fri, October 29, 2010 3:06:39 PM
Subject: [KS] ROK Constitutional Court upholds the military's book ban, 
including HaJoon Chang

Dear friends and colleagues,

I regret to have to update my earlier posting of October 14, 
with the dismaying news that yesterday South Korea's 
Constitutional Court upheld the military's right to ban books.
See the article below, from today's JoongAmg Ilbo.

So unless the Ministry of National Defence comes to its senses,
one of Korea's best-known economists will remain blacklisted.

This is both ludicrous and disgraceful. It is also bad publicity, 
with Seoul about to host the G20 Summit on November 11-12.

What can one do?

Aidan Foster-Carter
Honorary Senior Research Fellow in Sociology & Modern Korea, Leeds University, 
UK

E: afostercarter at aol.com     afostercarter at yahoo.com   W: www.aidanfc.net    
Flat 1,  40 Magdalen Road,  Exeter,  Devon,  EX2 4TE,  England,  UK
T:(+44, no 0)     07970 741307 (mobile);     01392 257753 (home)   
Skype:  Aidan.Foster.Carter   Twitter:  fcaidan  

Recent articles, broadcasts and activities on Korea:

Oct 28   North Korea: Embracing the dragon.   NK links with China deepen by the 
day  

Asia Times Online    http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Korea/LJ28Dg01.html

Oct 22    The Sociology of Kim Jong-eun. Published as “For the Kims, the weakest 
link is family”  Asia Times Online    
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Korea/LJ22Dg01.html

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2927688

Military book banning upheld 
Court says public benefit as important as private in national security
October 29, 2010 
The Constitutional Court yesterday dismissed a 2008 appeal against the Ministry 
of National Defense for its rule labeling some books as ideologically 
impermissible and banning soldiers from keeping them in military barracks. 

Among the books is an economics publication by a well-known mainstream Korean 
professor who is at the University of Cambridge. 

The ruling may reignite an old controversy in South Korea over how much the 
public should tolerate criticism of the government - while holding in check the 
communist North - when it comes to freedom of thought. 

The court said that the public benefit from national security is no less 
important than the private benefit, which is the right to know for individuals. 

Seven law officers in the military filed a petition with the Constitutional 
Court in October 2008 against a clause of the military rule, saying the rule 
infringes on the basic right to know. 

The 2nd Article of the 16th Clause of the military discipline rule stipulates 
that soldiers may not produce, copy, keep, transport or acquire subversive 
documents, books or any other means of expression, and to report immediately to 
the military authority when they acquire them. 

Three months earlier, the ministry classified 23 books, including a book written 
by Chang Ha-joon, as “subversive books” and prevented soldiers from bringing the 
books into military bases. 

Chang’s book “Bad Samaritans: The Myth of Free Trade and the Secret History of 
Capitalism,” published in 2008, warns against unregulated international trade, 
but according to some scholars, not in a way that denies the principle of free 
market economy itself. 

North Korea, which is the South’s “main enemy,” promotes itself as a communist 
country.

The ministry defended itself, saying the designation of “subversive books” is in 
accordance with a customary interpretation of the military law considering the 
uniqueness of the military and does not constitute an infringement on basic 
rights. 

The ministry discharged two of its seven law officers in March of last year for 
not resorting to a proposal through the command line in the military to solve 
the problem before the petition. The other military lawyers lost one month’s 
salary, were suspended for five days and were reprimanded or given a warning. 

By Moon Gwang-lip [joe at joongang.co.kr] 
_________________

In a message dated 10/14/2010 17:45:16 GMT Daylight Time, Afostercarter at aol.com 
writes:
Dear friends and colleagues, 
> 
>I think and hope the name and work of Ha-Joon Chang
>will be known to many on these lists.
> 
>Currently teaching in Cambridge (the original one), he
>is one of the most interesting economists alive today.
>At a time when capitalism manifestly isn't working well,
>his heterodox views are all the more important to hear.
> 
>He has a new website: www.hajoonchang.net
>which is an good place to get to know his work.
> 
>Don't miss his vivid account of growing up in a poorer Korea:
>http://www.hajoonchang.net/downloads/Bad%20Samaritans%20Prologue.pdf
> 
>This would be an excellent text to give to students also.
>
>Unbelievably, in 2008 some of his books were blacklisted by the
>ROK military from conscripts' reading, as supposedly seditious!
>http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/301730.html
>
>I don't know whether this idiotic and shameful ban is still in place,
>or if MND has now seen sense. (Of course, it only boosted sales.)
>
>Best wishes
>Aidan FC
>
>
>Aidan Foster-Carter
>Honorary Senior Research Fellow in Sociology & Modern Korea, Leeds University, 
>UK
> 
>E: afostercarter at aol.com     afostercarter at yahoo.com   W: www.aidanfc.net    
>Flat 1,  40 Magdalen Road,  Exeter,  Devon,  EX2 4TE,  England,  UK
>T:(+44, no 0)     07970 741307 (mobile);     01392 257753 (home)   
>Skype:  Aidan.Foster.Carter   Twitter:  fcaidan  
> 
>
>
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