South Korea may deport American author for her pro-North views

South Korean officials said yesterday they were considering whether to deport a Korean-American woman accused of praising rival North Korea during a recent lecture.

Prosecutors asked the Korea Immigration Service to deport visiting California-resident Shin Eun-mi after determining her comments violated South Korea's anti-Pyongyang security law, according to immigration officials.

The Korean Peninsula remains in a technical state of war, split along the world's most heavily fortified border since the 1950-53 Korean War which 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 its anti-Pyongyang security law.

Critics have called for the security law to be scrapped, saying it infringes upon freedom of speech. Supporters argue that the law is needed because of constant threats from North Korea. Past authoritarian leaders in South Korea frequently used the law to suppress political rivals.

Shin regularly posted stories about her trips to North Korea on OhmyNews, a popular South Korean online news site. Her book on North Korea trips was included in a government-designated reading list in 2013, but the culture ministry withdrew it earlier this week amid criticism of the book. Ministry officials said they would seek to retrieve 1,200 copies that were distributed to libraries across South Korea.

During a November lecture in Seoul, Shin said many North Korean defectors living in South Korea had told her they want to go back home and North Koreans hope new leader Kim Jong-un would bring change.