Dysfunctional rights body

Poor record tarnishes Korea’s global image

The Lee Myung-bak administration spawned the perception that conservatives are uninterested in promoting human rights. The negative image has become apparent as the National Human Rights Commission of Korea became a toothless tiger.

Even conservatives would not deny the view that the 10-year-old agency became subservient to the government although it was originally an independent agency. Under Lee's presidency, the commission has had its staff and budget slashed by 21 percent. The agency is now under the control of the President. Its chairman resigned prematurely. One-third of its liberal advisors quit in protest. Pro-Lee cronies and government officials filled the vacancies.

The commission kept mum on the high-profile state surveillance of civilians, including Park Won-soon, now the Seoul mayor.

A NHRCK survey found that even the conservatives pointed out the backward movement of Seoul’s human rights under the Lee administration. Korea's human rights ranking in the world has fallen.

A decade ago this week, President Kim Dae-jung launched the organization. It had embarrassed the liberal heads of state Kim and his successor Roh Moo-hyun. This challenge to the government was the symbol of progress in the nation's human rights movement.

It had brought to light cases of human rights infringement at prisons and social welfare facilities. Its chairman refuted Cheong Wa Dae's warning that he should have received prior permission ahead of participating in an international conference overseas. The chairman then said he did not need permission from the presidential office on an overseas trip as his body is an independent state agency. It had taken issue with President Roh Moo's support of the Iraq war. It said Seoul's backing of the Iraq war was a violation of human rights. Roh later explained that the government and the human rights commission might have different views on the war.

The commission may argue that it has devoted much of its energy to digging up human rights violations in North Korea. Its advocacy for the North Korean victims is worth praise in an ideal world. Its focus on the North Korean plight only worsened the inter-Korean relations without any sign of improvements in the Communist country’s human rights situation.

President Lee shot himself in the foot by downgrading the function of the commission. His cynical view on human rights is a lasting negative legacy of his presidency. His poor human rights record has also tarnished Korea's global image. All of the hidden cases of human rights violations will be brought to light when the new administration takes office in 2013.

The agency symbolized the pro-democracy struggle by Koreans under the authoritarian regimes for the past three decades. Korea cannot rightly be called an advanced country without unquestionable records on human rights. Per capita income and free trade agreements are not the yardsticks for an advanced country. The commission should start again from scratch.


(2011-11-22/TheKoreaTimes)