Seoul ( CNN ) -- Everyone 's made a joke they thought was funny only to see it fall flat , but Park Jung-geun 's attempt at humor could see him jailed for up to seven years in South Korea . Park , a photographer by profession , re-tweeted some messages from North Korea 's official twitter feed , such as reports on the late leader Kim Jong Il 's travels across the country and negative tweets about South Korea . `` I found the messages ludicrous because they are so harsh and the language is so out-dated . I found them funny , so I re-tweeted them , '' Park told CNN . Park , 23 , also took a photo of himself holding a whiskey bottle and edited in a North Korean flag as a background for a joke . His supporters then doctored a North Korean military poster , replacing a smiling soldier with a sad photo of Park and the image of the gun with another whiskey bottle . But Park was imprisoned in January of this year , accused of `` acts that benefit the enemy '' and spreading North Korean propaganda . He was released on bail in February and has another court appearance in mid-July . He 's still hoping the charges against him will be dropped . `` To be honest , if you did this in North Korea , you would be severely punished , '' Park said . `` But this is South Korea and I thought there would n't be a problem as I did it for fun . It certainly was n't for propaganda purposes . '' Park is the latest person to fall foul of South Korea 's controversial National Security Law ( NSL ) . Used widely during the years of military dictatorship in the 1970s and '80s , the law was designed to protect the state against North Korean propaganda and to prosecute spies . But human rights groups say it was also used to persecute political dissidents and stifle freedom of speech . Amnesty International says the law is still being abused , especially against those critical of the government 's policies on North Korea . `` The NSL has a chilling effect on freedom of expression in South Korea , '' said Sam Zarifi , Amnesty 's Asia-Pacific director . `` It is used , not to address threats to national security , but instead to intimidate people and limit their rights to free speech . It should be reformed in line with human rights law and if the government can not do this , it must be abolished , '' he said . The United Nations has also called on Seoul to change or repeal the law . President Lee Myung-bak 's office declined to comment on the issue but the law has certainly been more widely used since the conservative president came to power in 2008 . That year , just five people were prosecuted on charges of pro-North Korean online postings . Two years later that number had jumped to 82 . Some within the South Korean media are also criticizing the Lee administration for interfering in press freedom . Journalists from four major networks went on strike earlier this year . Employees from two of those stations have since gone back to work after promises from employers their concerns would be heard , but close to one thousand journalists remain on strike . `` President Lee Myung-bak has appointed pro-government people as presidents of the media companies , what we call 'parachutes , '' said Kim Jong-wook , head of the YTN labor union which is still on strike . `` They are now trying to censor our voice and stop criticism of the government , '' he added . The government denies interference but picketing journalists say they are worried they are seeing increased censorship reminiscent of the dark days of dictatorship .
North Korean man arrested over re-tweets of `` funny '' North Korean tweets . Lee Myung-bak 's also tweeted an image of himself with the South Korean flag . 23-year-old is accused of spreading North Korean propaganda . the YTN labor union says the law is being used to stifle freedom of speech .