A South Korean man is behind bars after making a sarcastic statement about Kim Jong Il on twitter. Tweeting "Long Live Kim Jong Il" could potentially put him in jail for up to seven years. Amnesty International is demanding his release. It cites South Korea for failing to understand sarcasm. Park Jeonggeun is a member of a South Korean socialist party that is known for openly criticizing North Korea and its politics. He is quoted as saying, "My intention was to lampoon North Korea's leaders for a joke. I did it for fun." Amnesty is requesting his release due to the fact that it violates international law of peaceful expression of opinion. South Koreas comes back saying that he breaks international law for performing an act that "benefits the enemy". He has been held since January 11th. Amnesty says the South Korean government is abusing a controversial law. This isn't the first time twitter has been the center for censorship. Tweets between certain countries have been reported as being blocked.
Although his tweet wasn't done at the best time, Mr. Jeonggeuns freedom of expression has been violated. The law that is said to be broken is one that only seems to apply when the country feels like it. Even though he says, "Long Live Kim Jong Il", looking at his personal history and what political party he is with more than states his actual intentions. It seems to be that the country is punishing him to make an example to other citizens. With the recent passing of the dictator, relations between countries are very rocky. Things could remain the same or potentially get worse.
Kim Jong il Tweet
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