국정원이 한국 민주주의에 개입하는 것을 우려하는
해외 학자들의 성명
해외 한국학자, 국정원에 의한 대한민국 민주주의의 침해를 우려한다
2013년 10월 22일(화) 오전 11시, 민주화운동기념사업회 '민주누리'
<국정원이 한국 민주주의에 개입하는 것을 우려하는 해외 학자들의 성명>
최근 한국 국정원의 행동을 보면서 한국이 힘들게 성취한 민주주의가 위험에 처했다는 우려가 높아지고 있다. 현재 국정원과 국정원의 전임 원장 원세훈은 지난해 대선에 개입했다는 엄중한 혐의로 조사를 받고 있다.
조사와 함께 각 정당의 정치인들이 국정원 개혁의 필요성을 논의하는 와중에, 국정원은 반격에 나선 듯 보인다. 소수 야당과 소속 의원들을 내란음모 혐의로 공격한 것이다.
내란음모 혐의는 1987년 군사정권이 물러난 이후 제기된 적이 없다. 이를 보고 있으면, 1980년에 정치적 반대파인 김대중(이후 대통령이 되고 노벨평화상을 받는다)을 내란음모 혐의로 기소한 것과 1975년에 인혁당 사건(이후 무죄로 밝혀진다)을 조작해 8명의 무고한 인명을 빼앗은 조잡한 정치 공작들이 떠오른다.
한국은 세계적으로 ‘아래로부터 민주화’의 기수로 알려졌고, 어떻게 대체로 평화적인 경로를 통해 독재를 벗어나 민주주의를 꽃피울 수 있는지 보여주는 선례가 됐다. 그 때문에 한국 시민사회는 전세계 많은 이들의 부러움을 샀다.
그러나 동시에 많은 이들은 한반도를 둘러싼 냉전이라는 조건 때문에 한국의 민주화가 완성되지 못한 것도 알고 있다. 한국 내에 숨겨진 ‘강철 국가’는 한번도 사라진 적이 없다는 우려가 계속 제기됐으며 최근 국정원이 취하는 행동은 그런 우려를 다시금 제기하게 한다.
더욱이 국정원이 정치적 반대파를 내란 혐의로 고소하는 것뿐 아니라, 냉전시대 남용으로 악명 높았던 반공 논리의 잔재인 국가보안법을 다시금 꺼내 들어 휘두르는 것에 중대한 우려를 표한다.
우리는 이석기 의원과, 함께 기소된 통합진보당 다른 의원들이 무죄인지 아닌지에 대해서는 판단을 내릴 수 없다. 그러나 명백하고도 분명한 것은 소수 민족주의 좌파 정치인들의 행동이 아니라, 바로 국가 정보 기구가 선거 과정에 개입하고 그 조직을 개혁하라는 요구에 직면해 다른 곳으로 관심을 돌리려 하는 행위야말로 남한의 민주주의와 시민적 권리를 가장 위협한다는 것이다.
한국 안팎에 있는 많은 이들이 보기에 국정원은 자신의 불법 행동에 대한 철저한 진상조사를 피하고 자신의 권력을 유지하기 위해 조잡한 수법으로 관심을 돌리려 한다.
지금 한국 민주주의는 아주 위험한 순간을 맞이하고 있다. 그러나 동시에 지금은 한국 민중이 냉전 시대와 과거 독재 정권의 잔재를 청산할 기회이기도 하다. 한국이 오랫동안 갈망한 진정한 민주주의 국가가 되기 위해서는 연설ㆍ사상ㆍ정치 행동의 자유를 완전히 보장해야 한다.
성숙한 민주주의는 강한 신념을 가졌다는 이유로 사람들을 두려워 하거나 가상적인 외부 위협을 이용해 사회 내 다양한 목소리를 억압해서는 안 된다. 한국을 깊이 염려하는 학자로서 우리는 한국이 과거 독재 시절로 회귀하는 일이 없도록 위험에 처한 한국 민주주의에 우려를 표하는 동시에 한국인들에게 연대를 표한다.
Concerned overseas scholars’ statement on National Intelligence Service interference in South Korean democracy
Recent actions by South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) are raising concerns that Korea’s hard-won democracy is under threat. The NIS and its former director are currently under investigation for very serious allegations of interference in last year’s presidential election. But with that investigation ongoing and talk among politicians across party lines of the need for NIS reform, the agency has mounted what appears to be a counterattack, moving against a minor opposition party and one of its lawmakers with charges of plotting a rebellion. These charges have been unheard of since the days of the military dictatorship that ended in 1987. They bring to mind previous travesties like the charges of sedition levelled at political dissident and later president and Nobel Peace Laureate Kim Dae Jung in 1980 and the fabricated People’s Revolutionary Party case of 1975 which claimed the lives of eight innocent people, later exonerated.
South Korea has rightly been seen as a beacon for democratisation from below, as a model of how a dictatorship can transition, largely peacefully, to a thriving democracy with a civil society that is the envy of many around the world. However, it has also been clear to many that under the continuing cold war conditions on the Korean peninsula South Korea’s democratic transition remains unfinished. There have long been concerns that South Korea’s hidden ‘security state’ has never actually gone away and the recent actions of the NIS have given new credibility to those concerns. Furthermore, we are gravely concerned that alongside the accusation of treason, the National Security Law, a vestige of Cold War anticommunism with a history of abuse, is once again being used to attack opposition politicians.
We can make no judgement about the guilt or innocence of Rep. Lee Seok-ki and the other accused members of the United Progressive Party. However, it is abundantly clear to us that the greatest threat to democracy and civil liberties in South Korea is not the alleged actions of a minor left-nationalist politician, but the direct political interference in the electoral process by an intelligence apparatus that seems to be desperately trying to divert attention from the reform of its own structure and operation. To many in Korea and abroad, it appears that the NIS is using a crude distraction in order to avoid scrutiny of its own alleged illegal activities, and to justify its existing powers.
This is a very dangerous moment for South Korea’s democracy but it also presents an opportunity for the Korean people to finally lay to rest the remnants of the cold war and the dictatorships of the past. For Korea to really be the democratic society that it aspires to be it must allow full freedom of speech, thought and political activity. A mature democracy should not be afraid of people who have strong beliefs, nor should it use a supposed external threat to silence diverse voices that make up society. As scholars who care deeply about Korea we express both our concern about this latest threat to Korean democracy and our solidarity with the Korean people so that we can all ensure there is no return to the dictatorial past.
해외학자 서명자 명단 (2013년 10월 22일 현재 206명)
Signatories (206 as of October 22, 2013)
Owen Miller, SOAS, University of London Se-Woong Koo, Yale University Ju Hui Judy Han, University of Toronto Jamie Doucette, University of Manchester Vladimir Tikhonov (Pak Noja), University of Oslo Kevin Gray, University of Sussex Konrad M. Lawson, University of St Andrews Adam Bohnet, King’s University College at the University of Western Ontario Jim Glassman, University of British Columbia Jaeho Kang, SOAS, University of London Laam Hae, York University Susan Kang, City University of New York Theodore Jun Yoo, University of Hawaii at Manoa Jennifer Jihye Chun, University of Toronto Hae Yeon Choo, University of Toronto Takashi Fujitani, University of Toronto Jeongmin Kim, New York University Soonyi Lee, New York University Helen Hyun-Joo Lee, Yonsei University Marilyn B. Young, New York University Henry Em, Yonsei University Andre Schmid, University of Toronto Yong Soon Min, University of California, Irvine Seung-Hun Lee, University of Virginia Merose Hwang, Hiram College Namhee Lee, University of California, Los Angeles Saeyoung Park, Davidson College Kevin Hewison, Murdoch University Daniel Y. Kim, Brown University Minjeong Kim, Virginia Tech Nadia Y. Kim, Loyola Marymount University Joel Wainwright, Ohio State University Juhn Ahn, University of Michigan Sun-Chul Kim, Emory University Charles Armstrong, Columbia University James Kyung-Jin Lee, University of California, Irvine Jae-Jung Suh, Johns Hopkins University Jesook Song, University of Toronto Eleana Kim, Rochester University Jaehoon Yeon, SOAS, University of London David Hundt, Deakin University Hyun Bang Shin, London School of Economics Hyun Ok Park, York University Ga Young Chung, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Nan Kim, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Albert L. Park, Claremont McKenna College Janice Kim, York University Mimi E. Kim, University of California, Berkeley Hyejeong Jo, University of Pennsylvania Jinkuk Hong, University of Wisconsin-Madison Christine Hong, University of California, Santa Cruz Sarah Eunkyung Chee, University of California, Santa Cruz Jaeeun Kim, George Mason University Jerome de Wit, Leiden University Daniel Kim, The New School Jung Won Sonn, University College London Haeyoung Kim, University of Chicago John P. DiMoia, National University of Singapore Hyeseon Jeong, Ohio State University Jiyoung Song, Singapore Management University George Katsiaficas, Wentworth institute of Technology Erin Runions, Pomona College Ken Kawashima, University of Toronto Crystal Munhye Baik, University of Southern California Jinyoung Park, Cornell University Hwa-Jen Liu, National Taiwan University Deborah Cowen, University of Toronto Jinn-yuh Hsu, National Taiwan University Young-a Park, University of Hawaii, Manoa W. Taejin Hwang, Middlebury College Sungju Park-Kang, University of Gothenburg, Sweden Gary N. McLean, University of Minnesota WooJin Kang, Angelo State University, Texas Paul Chang, Harvard University Caroline Norma, RMIT University, Australia Laurel Kendall, American Museum of Natural History Edward J. Baker, Harvard University Andrew Bond, University of California, Riverside Sixiang Wang, Columbia University Monica Kim, University at Albany, State University of New York Martin Hart-Landsberg, Lewis and Clark College Yunju Nam, University at Buffalo, State University of New York Moon J. Pak, Oakland University, Rochester, Michigan Yoonkyung Lee, State University of New York at Binghamton Su-kyoung Hwang, University of Sydney Wooksoo Kim, University at Buffalo, State University of New York Sanghyuk Shin, University of California, Los Angeles Sherri Ter Molen, Wayne State University Stephen Epstein, Victoria University of Wellington Anders Riel Muller, Roskilde University Kelly Yoojeong Jeong, University of California, Riverside Bumsoo Lee, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Adam Cathcart, University of Leeds Michael Jin, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi Hank T. Wang, China-EU School of Law at the China University of Politics and Law Hyong G. Rhew, Reed College Serk-Bae Suh, University of California, Irvine Jeongsu Shin, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign So Jung Kim, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Siho Nam, University of North Florida Duk H. Kim, St. Ambrose University Jaeeun Park, Centre Max Weber, Lyon, France Gavin Walker, McGill University Bruce Cumings, University of Chicago Thomas Lamarre, McGill University Steven Denney, University of Toronto Chigon Kim, Wright State University Michelle Cho, McGill University Taehyun Nam, Salisbury University Michael O’Loughlin, Salisbury University Youngseek Kim, University of Kentucky Hyejin Moon, The University of Texas at Arlington Markus Bell, The Australian National University Michael Jin, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi Q-Ho Lee, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Patrick Park, Cornell University Sinhyeok Jung, University of Toronto Dong-Kyun Im, Harvard University Sooyeon Yoon, University of Illinois Agnes Sohn, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Dohye Kim, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign KeunBok Lee, University of California, Berkeley Namsoon Kang, Texas Christian University Sung Kyun Park, University of Michigan Han Lheem, Fayetteville State University Michael J. Pettid, Binghamton University Suzy Kim, Rutgers University Jin Y. Park, American University Junghoo Cho, University of California, Los Angeles Sunyoung Park, University of Southern California Tae-Hee Jo, State University of New York, Buffalo State Hyungsoo Kim, University of Kentucky Frances L. Kendall, Salisbury University Heesam Kang, Trident University International Seongsoo Choi, Yale University Sungmin Lee, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Alex J.S. Lee, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Hyunkag Cho, Michigan State University Suhkyung Kim, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Hee-Young Shin, Wright State University Dongho Cho, Queens College, The City University of New York Dafna Zur, Stanford University Alejandra Marchevsky, California State University, Los Angeles Su Yun Kim, University of Hong Kong Seo Young Park, Scripps College Earl Jackson, National Chiao Tung University Jane Park, University of Sydney Andrew Jackson, SOAS, University of London David Youngue Khang, Emily Carr University of Art & Design, Vancouver Jin-Heon Jung, Max Plank Institute Heeman Kim, Kennesaw State University Ruthann Lee, University of British Columbia Youjeong Oh, University of Texas, Austin Hagen Koo, University of Hawaii at Manoa Christine Kim, Simon Fraser University Hye Gyong Park, University of Illinois Joya Misra, University of Massachusetts Alexis Dudden, University of Connecticut Christina Ghanbarpour, Santa Monica College Yung Soo Kim, University of Kentucky Keith Leitich, Pierce College Puyallup Mark Morris, Trinity College, Cambridge Johnny Kline, Chicago Theological Seminary Jennifer Kwon Dobbs, St. Olaf College Kyong-Ah Kwon, Georgia State University Victor Koschmann, Cornell University Mark Selden, Cornell University and Asia-Pacific Journal Michael Ekers, University of Toronto Rajyashree Reddy, University of Toronto Chunsik Lee, University of North Florida Illhoi Yoo, University of Missouri School of Medicine Laura Hyun Yi Kang, University of California, Irvine Hak-Seon Lee, James Madison University Daekyung Kim, James Madison University Eun-Ho Yeo, Plymouth State University Jamie Jungmin Yoo, Harvard University Renato Azevedo, University of Sao Paulo, Brazil Tae-Ung Baik, University of Hawaii, Manoa Sookeung Jung, Georgia State University Alon Levkowitz, Hebrew University of Jerusalem Mark Hunter, University of Toronto Jennifer Hyndman, York University Dina Al-kassim, University of British Columbia Sapana Doshi, University of Arizona Don Baker, University of British Columbia Minelle Mahtani, University of Toronto Jiyoung Park, University at Buffalo, State University of New York Sanggon Nam, Pfeiffer University Sumi Cho, University of Michigan David K. Seitz, University of Toronto Yuson Jung, Wayne State University Tae Yang Kwak, Ramapo College of New Jersey Jisun Yu, Concordia University Hyoju Lee, Claremont School of Theology Hyo-Dong Lee, Drew University Boudewijn Walraven, Leiden University Nathaniel Roberts, Max Planck Institute Alison Mountz, Wilfrid Laurier University Tessa Morris-Suzuki, Australian National University Eva Hansson, Stockholm University Jong Choi, California State University, Bakersfield Kyuhoon Cho, National University of Singapore Sujung Kim, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Patricia Landolt, University of Toronto Caren Kaplan, University of California, Davis Sohoon Lee, University of Sydney 기자회견 참석자 소개 List of Participants
1) 박노자 소속: Department of Culture Studies and Oriental Languages, University of Oslo 분야: 동아시아학, 한국사 Prof. Vladimir Tikhonov Affiliation: Department of Culture Studies and Oriental Languages, University of Oslo Field: East Asian studies, Korean history Email: vladimir.tikhonov@ikos.uio.no
2) 한주희 소속: Department of Human Geography, University of Toronto 분야: 문화지리학, 종교와 정치 Prof. Ju Hui Judy Han Affiliation: Department of Human Geography, University of Toronto Field: cultural geography, religion and politics Email: judy.han@utoronto.ca 3) 이윤경 소속: Department of Sociology, State University of New York at Binghamton 분야: 동아시아 비교정치학 Prof. Yoonkyung Lee Affiliation: Department of Sociology, State University of New York at Binghamton Field: comparative politics of East Asia Email: yklee@binghamton.edu
4) 송지영 소속: Singapore Management University 분야: 정치학, 이주와 인간안보 Prof. Jiyoung Song Affiliation: School of Social Sciences, Singapore Management University Field: political science, migration and human security Email: jysong@smu.edu.sg
5) 구세웅 소속: MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies, Yale University 분야: 한국학, 한국종교사 Dr. Se-Woong Koo Affiliation: MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies, Yale University Field: Korean studies, history of Korean religions Email: se-woong.koo@yale.edu
6) 해람 소속: Department of Political Science, York University 분야: 지리학, 도시개발의 정치경제 Prof. Laam Hae Affiliation: Department of Political Science, York University Field: geography, political economy of urban development Email: lhae@yorku.ca
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