South Korea's Constitutional Court Overturns Anti-Pyongyang Leafleting Ban

South Korea's Constitutional Court has struck down a law that criminalized the sending of anti-Pyongyang propaganda leaflets to North Korea, ruling it as an excessive restriction on free speech. The law, passed in 2020, made leafleting punishable by up to three years in prison or a fine. The court's decision came in response to a complaint filed by North Korean defector-activists. While the law has been invalidated, police can still block activists if their leafleting activities are seen as risking the safety of South Koreans in border areas. The South Korean government, which previously supported the law, now prefers activists to refrain from sending leaflets to North Korea.