A North Korean defector turned activist has filed a request with a Seoul court, asking it to consider the constitutionality of a law that prohibits sending anti-Pyongyang leaflets across the border to the North. 

Park Sang-hak, the director of Fighters for a Free North Korea, through his lawyer Lee Heon confirmed the request submitted to the Seoul Central District Court.  

If the court accepts Park's request, it will ask the Constitutional Court to determine whether the anti-leafleting law conforms to the Constitution. 

According to Lee, Park took this action to defend the true identity and independence of the Republic of Korea and to restore its dignity, which he believes has been damaged due to the controversial law. 

The Development of Inter-Korean Relations Act, which came into effect in March last year, bans sending propaganda leaflets over to the North Korea side. Violators may face a jail term of up to three years or a maximum fine of 30 million won. 

Park was indicted last month on charges of violating the law by sending up balloons carrying anti-North Korea propaganda flyers in border areas.