Saturday, January 10, 2015 | 11:45 AM
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A Korean-American woman accused of praising rival North Korea in a recent lecture was deported from South Korea on Saturday, in the latest in a series of cases that critics say infringe on the country’s freedom of speech.
The Korea Immigration Service decided to deport Shin Eun-mi, a California resident, after prosecutors determined that her comments violated South Korea’s National Security Law, agency official Kim Du-yeol said.
Shin departed the country on a flight to the US on Saturday evening, another immigration official said on condition of anonymity, citing department rules.
“Frankly speaking, I feel like I’m betrayed by someone who I have a crush on,” Shin told reporters before her departure.
She said she hopes to be able to return to both Koreas.
The Korean Peninsula remains technically in a state of war, split along the world’s most heavily fortified border, because the 1950-53 Korean War ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty. In South Korea, praising North Korea can be punished by up to seven years in prison under the National Security Law.
In Washington, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Shin had been barred from exiting South Korea for three weeks, and the US has seen reports indicating the prosecution has asked for her to be deported and banned from the country for five years.
Like our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/jamaicaobserver
Follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/JamaicaObserver
View the original article here
South Korea deports American over positive N Korea comments
