South Korean lawmaker convicted of treason, supporting North Korea

[unhappycamper]

http://www.latimes.com/world/worldnow/la-fg-wn-south-korea-treason-20140217,0,6296182.story



South Korean lawmaker Lee Seok-ki after a parliamentary vote on a motion for his arrest on charges of supporting North Korea.

South Korean lawmaker convicted of treason, supporting North Korea
By Steven Borowiec
February 17, 2014, 4:00 a.m.

SEOUL -- A left-wing South Korean lawmaker was sentenced to 12 years in prison Monday on charges of treason and praising North Korea, the first such conviction of a legislator since the South transitioned to democracy in the late 1980s.

Prosecutors had sought a 20-year term for Lee Seok-ki of the small, leftist Unified Progressive Party. He and six fellow party members were arrested last year after they held a meeting in which they allegedly discussed ways to help the North defeat the South in the event of a war between the two Koreas.

Lee and his co-defendants allegedly plotted ways to take out South Korean infrastructure, such as communications and rail facilities, should conflict break out. They were also accused of singing North Korean songs and referring to late North Korea leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il using honorific titles -- both illegal acts in the South.

In their defense, the defendants argued that the evidence against them had been exaggerated to frame them of plotting an insurrection.