Hot in this week's news is Representative Lee Seok-Ki's conspiracy for armed revolt (by forming an anti-state underground group known as the Revolutionary organization) probed by the National Intelligence Service. Political dissent is unavoidable in the system of democracy and it can take form in many ways from voicing opinions to civil disobedience. Repressive governments are known for crushing dissents and not giving them a chance to publicly debate or justify their position. In America, the government prohibited political dissent mostly in time of war, although the definition of wartime is becoming ambiguous nowadays. The Korean peninsula has been divided for 60 years under the conditions of a cease-fire, not a peace treaty. In other words, the war isn't over. Therefore, the dissenting voice can be crushed at any time when it is regarded as a threat to national security and/or public safety. But at this questionable time of investigating NIS's involvement in 2012 Presidential election, it seems Korean Assembly in a hurry to pass motion for the arrest of Rep. Lee.  Once the case is under media flash, what could be more wrong about the situation even if it was a revolting plot?  The case should be open to the public and that's the way people can figure out where is the red line they shouldn't cross over. Otherwise there is no way to block their claims that the NIS is playing politics in the name of their investigative rights and it is an attempt at new McCarthyism.