A South Korean court has ruled in favor of the Unification Ministry’s decision to revoke the license of a defector-led group for its anti-Pyongyang leaflet campaigns. 

The Seoul Administrative Court on Thursday issued a verdict on the lawsuit brought by the Fighters for a Free North Korea, saying dissemination of such leaflets runs counter to public interest and pose a threat to the lives of the public. 

It also said sending leaflets across the border can heighten military tension between the two Koreas and thus amounts to a grave infringement on the government’s efforts to push for peaceful unification policies. 

Regarding the group’s claim that it fringes upon their freedom to expression, the court said that regardless of its contents, how those expressions are made can be regulated in accordance with the principle of proportionality and the principle of excessive prohibition. 

With the ruling, the group led by defector-turned-activist Park Sang-hak will lose its status as a ministry-registered institution from late next month.