Main Issues

The liability of a person who has joined an illegal association or group prior to the enforcement of the National Security Act (No. 10);

Summary of Judgment

The crime of joining an illegal association or group is not a continuous crime, but a kind of immediate crime.

[Reference Provisions]

Article 1 subparag. 3 of the National Security Act (Law No. 10), Article 1 of the National Security Act (Law No. 500)

upper and high-ranking persons

Prosecutor

Judgment of the lower court

Support for Incheon in the first instance, and Seoul High Court in the second instance.

Reasons

It is reasonable to interpret ex officio that the crime of joining an illegal association or group under Article 1 subparagraph 3 of the former National Security Act (short-term No. 10, 1948; hereinafter the same shall apply) belongs to a kind of immediate crime for which such crime is completed, not to be an exclusive crime, and it is reasonable to interpret that the crime is completed (short-term No. 57 of the same year and April 5, 1960; referring to the Judgment of the Union of Party Members). As to a person who has already joined an illegal association or group before the enforcement of the former National Security Act, even if he or she continues to constitute an illegal association or group, it does not constitute an act if it does not constitute a crime under the law at the time of joining the National Security Act. According to the original judgment, the court below did not recognize that the defendant was a member of the National Security Act before August 15, 1948 and was arrested and detained at the time of withdrawal from the military in April 4, 1977 that he or she was found guilty as an organization of new labor party.