ARIRANG NEWS 14:00
Hello welcome to Arirang News. Live from Seoul, I′m Laah Hyun-kyung. The stories we′re following at this hour...
Korea′s Constitutional Court disbands a political party for the first time in history. The decision comes a year after the Justice Ministry filed a petition against the leftist United Progressive Party.
The UN General Assembly votes in favor of a resolution that calls for referring the North Korean regime to the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity.
The White House doesn′t name North Korea as the culprit behind the recent cyber attack on Sony Pictures, but does say that it was a "serious national security matter." The FBI is still investigating.
Title: Minor opposition Unified Progressive Party dissolved
We start with the news that Korea′s Constitutional Court has ruled in favor of dissolving the minor opposition Unified Progressive Party founded just two years ago,.
For the latest,... here′s our Ji Myung-kil.
Eight out of nine judges at Korea′s Constitutional Court ruled in favor of disbanding the minor opposition Unified Progressive Party on Friday.
It is the first time the court has ordered the dissolution of a political party since it was founded in 1988.
During a nationally televised verdict,... Justice Park Han-chul said the minor opposition party had violated South Korea′s constitutional order and sought to achieve a North Korean-style of socialism.
The party′s four members,... including lawmaker Lee Seok-ki, were arrested last year on charges of trying to instigate a rebellion against the South Korean government in the event of war.
As a result of the party breakup,... all five of the party′s lawmakers will be stripped of their parliamentary membership.
The ruling also prohibits any party with similar goals and ideologies from being established in the future.
Immediately following the ruling, the head of the Unified Progressive Party Lee Jung-hee, conveyed her thoughts.
"I, as the chief of the party, am responsible for today′s ruling. Although the government has dissolved our party, it is not going to dissolve our liberal mentality."
While the ruling Saenuri Party welcomed the court′s decision,...
other opposition parties took a different tone.
They said they respected the court′s decision,... but also worry that the ruling could be grounds for restricting freedom of speech and assembly in the future.
"Friday′s groundbreaking decision by the court came after the Justice Ministry filed a petition late last year to break up the Unified Progressive Party.
And many political analysts expect the decision to further deepen the rift between liberals and conservatives in the country.
Ji Myung-kil, Arirang News."
Title: UN General Assembly votes to refer N. Korea to ICC for rights abuses
Following a committee decision last month to adopt a resolution calling for the North Korean leadership to be brought to The Hague for violating huma
