Calls are growing for the government to deal more sternly with anti-North Korea leaflets after a court ruling paved the way for authorities to block their launches, complicating South Korea’s efforts to safeguard freedom of expression.

A local court in Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi Province, on Tuesday dismissed a case filed by Lee Min-bok, a North Korean defector who leads the leaflet distribution drive, seeking 50 million won ($45,000) in compensation from the government for inflicting emotional distress by stopping his work last year.

While endorsing his right to express his opinions through the flyers, the verdict said his campaign may place the people’s lives and bodies in “clear and existing danger,” which could be sufficient reason to limit the fundamental rights, citing North Korea’s repeated threats of retaliation and a recent exchange of fire across the border.

The two Koreas traded fire in October after the North began shooting heavy machine guns, apparently aiming at balloons released by civic groups including Lee’s, which were filled with leaflets denouncing the communist regime, $1 bills, mini radios and other items.

The court decision appears to be deepening the dilemma for Seoul over how to balance the need to improve inter-Korean ties and ensure the citizens’ freedom of expression and assembly and association.

While the campaign could serve as a crucial public diplomacy tool toward North Koreans beyond the government’s role, they at times help heighten tension and thus set hurdles for Seoul’s policy goals.

Doubtful about imposing any ban, the Unification Ministry pledged to work more with the police but upheld its principles.

“We will provide support so that the police could take necessary safety measures to prevent any potential damage to the citizens’ lives, bodies or property,” ministry spokesman Lim Byeong-cheol told reporters Wednesday.

“The necessary safety measures do not mean any physical, direct restriction on the leaflet launches that constitute the freedom of expression. … The government has been and will continue to handle the issue by comprehensively considering North Korea’s threats against the South and the possibilities of a physical clash involving our citizens.”

The government has been coming under mounting pressure in particular since North Korean leader Kim Jong-un displayed his willingness for “highest-level talks” with South Korea in his New Year speech.

Another defector organization recently sent a batch of balloons containing some 1.3 million anti-Pyongyang handouts, triggering concerns that it would thwart the nascent mood for a cross-border rapprochement.

The North’s state media on Wednesday lashed out at Seoul for not stopping the liftoff, demanding that it choose between “confrontation and improvement of the relationship.”

The National Assembly is forecast to approve a resolution next week calling for an end to slander between the divided states in line with their previous agreements. While criticizing Pyongyang for its provocative behavior, it also urges the government to take action to keep the leaflet spread from marring its pursuit of better inter-Korean ties or endangering the lives of citizens in border regions.

Shortly after the shooting incident, Yeoncheon County residents pleaded for government action and took to the streets, using trucks and tractors to block the activists from reaching the venue where they had planned to release more balloons.

“As a basic right of the citizens, the freedom of expression ought to be defended, but putting in danger not just yourself but others is well beyond the matter,” Rep. Kim Young-woo, a spokesman for the ruling Saenuri Party, said at a news briefing Wednesday.

“The state is under an obligation to protect the people’s lives and property.”

The text passed the parliamentary committee on foreign affairs and unification on Tuesday.

“Given the nature of their Stalinist system, North Korean officials cannot engage in talks with the South if flyers undercutting Kim’s authority are distributed in their country,” said Cheong Seong-chang, a senior fellow at the Sejong Institute.

“The prospects would darken if the Unification Ministry, which should know the regime better than any other agency, sticks to its uncompromising attitude and does not exert any flexibility.”

By Shin Hyon-hee (heeshin@heraldcorp.com)