Supreme Court finds novelist guilty of obscenity charges

The Supreme Court Friday sentenced Chang Jong-Il, author of the novel ¡°Tell Me Lies,¡± to six months in jail with a one-year suspended sentence in an appellate trial on charges of producing an obscene publication.

Handing down the ruling, the court said that the artistic value of literary works does not necessarily justify excessively obscene content. The court judged that the novel is obscene even in light of the changing notions of sex in liberalized Korean society, considering graphic and vulgar descriptions of sexual activities make up the lion¡¯s share of the book.

The ruling was a rejection of cultural circles¡¯ argument that the freedom of arts and expression should be guaranteed and emphasized that sexual statements exceeding social tolerance will be punished even if they are part of an artistic creation.

Chang published the novel in October 1996. It tells the story of a middle-aged former sculptor who meets a senior high school girl and begins a torrid love affair. In January of the following year, Chang was accused of producing an obscene book and in the first trial, he was given a sentence of 10 months in prison.

Meanwhile, the prosecution cleared the producer of the movie based on the novel of any suspicions, saying that the movie¡¯s contents are more moderate than the book. Prosecutors said that the judgment on the movie would be left to viewers.