Namyang Library's 'censorship' controversy over political book selection

Namyang Library in Hwaseong City is facing accusations of censorship after rejecting a citizen's request for a political critique book, classifying it as 'ideological or political material.' The book, titled 'Square Critique,' reportedly examines the shortcomings of South Korea's 'square democracy' and explores paths toward a more robust democratic system. The library's decision has sparked controversy, with critics arguing it represents an arbitrary exclusion based on keywords like 'democracy' and 'freedom' appearing in the book's cover and table of contents.

The publisher, Koracho Press, has strongly protested the library's decision, sending an official notice stating that refusing a book purchase solely for containing terms like 'democracy' and 'freedom' constitutes clear administrative convenience and censorship. The publisher argues that such a stance is contrary to the universal values these terms represent in society.

The library maintains that its actions are in line with established regulations, specifically the 'Namyang Library Hope Book Exclusion Criteria,' which prohibits the inclusion of ideological or political materials. They claim these guidelines were developed with reference to national library manuals. The library also noted that the 'hope book' system is not an obligation to purchase every requested book but a process where the library decides which books to acquire within a limited budget.

However, an investigation by Hankyoreh into the exclusion criteria of public libraries in 30 basic local governments in Gyeonggi Province revealed that Namyang Library's practice is unique. While 15 other libraries explicitly mention excluding 'politically motivated materials,' they clarified that this does not typically extend to general political critique. These libraries usually only exclude books if the application itself is deemed politically motivated, such as multiple requests by one individual for books of a specific political leaning or the application for books published by political candidates during election periods. This comparative analysis suggests that Namyang Library's interpretation and application of its exclusion criteria are unusually strict.