A South Korean lawmaker was slapped with a fine by a South Korean court on Monday for accusing the left-leaning Lawyers for a Democratic Society (Minbyun) of being pro-DPRK, a charge frequently leveled against the controversial organization.

A judge demanded that Ha Tae-kyung of the center-right Bareun Party provide compensation of KRW five million (USD4,378) to Minbyun, arguing that the organization is not pro-North and that the charges had been defamatory.

“In South Korea, the term Jongbuk has the negative meaning of ‘following North Korea unquestioningly’ thus ‘denying constitutional ground order and the identity of the Republic of Korea (ROK),”