of the crime of insult, and restrictions on assemblies for quarantine reasons, etc. Starting in 2022, the Constitutional Court is examining the constitutionality of Article 7 of the National Security Law,131) and as the COVID-19 epidemic situation has changed, the restrictions on gatherings for this reason has been lifted. As assemblies and demonstrations resumed, issues of noise and hate speech were raised, and the National Assembly's amendment to the law in response was criticized for excessively restricting the freedom of assembly and demonstration. However, the proposed amendment to the Press Arbitration Act is pending in the National Assembly, but various controversies surrounding “fake news” appear to have emerged. In Sep. 2022, The questions of ‘fake news’ have been raised on several occasion, such as the case of MBC's report on the president's improper remarks in Sep. 2022, the case of opposition lawmakers and journalists criticizing the president and other members of the ruling party, and there were often cases in which the presidential secretary's office and high-ranking officials responded to the other party through filing of lawsuits, etc. Regarding this, there is also a view that freedom of expression, assembly and demonstration in Korea are repeating progress and regression, and it is difficult to evaluate the above cases in terms of freedom of expression and freedom of assembly and demonstration. Reporters Without Borders (RWB), an international non-governmental organization, has been releasing an annual Press Freedom Index since 2002, and in 2022, Korea ranked 43rd out of 180 countries, which is one step down from the previous year. Also, in the free speech map, Korea received yellow,132) indicating good. Below, we will look at ‘the controversy related to reports on the satirical works of the Bucheon International Comics Festival and overseas travel,’ ‘decision on unconstitutionality of Article 103(3) of the “Public Official Election Act” and the freedom of expression,’ and ‘the status of no assembly zone and the amendment to the “Assembly and Demonstration Act”,’ among the freedom of expression and freedom of assembly and demonstration cases in 2022. 131) The NHRCK submitted an opinion to the Constitutional Court that Article 7(1), (3) and (5) of the National Security Act violated the Constitution with the decision on Aug. 31, 2022. 132) RSF Webpage; Maeil Business News Press Release, “Korea Ranked 43rd in the World Press Freedom Index,” May 3, 2022. 52