The South Korean government unjustly revoked the legal status of a North Korean defector activist group over its anti-regime leafleting, the Supreme Court has ruled, finding the government cannot prove that the group’s activities caused a “grave danger” to the lives and safety of residents in the area.

The previous Moon Jae-in administration determined that Freedom for North Korea (FFNK) escalated the risk of military conflict by sending hundreds of thousands of anti-regime leaflets into North Korea between April and June 2020 and canceled its “establishment permission” — akin to an operational license.

FFNK contested the decision, and lower courts