The Supreme Court said Monday it is legal for the government to ban distribution of propaganda leaflets to North Korea for the sake of preventing retaliatory provocation from across the border.

The ruling came after Lee Man-bok, 59, a North Korean defector, filed for compensation against the state, citing “emotional distress” after the government stopped him from dispatching such leaflets.

Lee, who defected in 1991, has been working as a missionary and was the first person in South Korea to send a giant balloon filled with propaganda leaflets across the border in 2005. He has since sent 5,708 balloons to the North carrying materials criticizing the reclusive regime between 2009 and 2013. One balloon usually contains tens of thousands of leaflets.

The government has stopped Lee from sending the balloons from residential areas since 2007. It has also dispatched military and police to prevent North Korea’s retaliatory attacks. On Oct. 10, 2014, the North fired antiaircraft machine guns at one of Lee’s balloons, prompting a brief skirmish between the two Koreas.

Propaganda war has been a common form of confrontation between the two Koreas, with both sides launching propaganda materials across the border or turning on loudspeaker broadcasts slamming each other.

Lee filed a lawsuit claiming the sending of leaflets constitutes freedom of expression. The court rulings, however, sided with the government’s measure as necessary to protect the safety of the general public.

The first ruling, for instance, said the location from which the balloons are sent is inevitably exposed to risks and threats.

Lee also claimed that the vinyl balloons are usually sent at night, making it difficult for the North to detect. The second ruling, however, said that the number and size of the propaganda balloons as well as the frequency of its distribution make it vulnerable to North Korea’s detection and that the action has causal link with the North’s provocation. The top court upheld these previous rulings.

(khnews@heraldcorp.com)