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Economy and Human Rights Entire Society Should Agonize on Harmonizing Conflicting Values | |||
A presidential human rights panel's recommendations on the ``national action plan'' have come under heavy fire from the establishment. Korea's five major business associations Tuesday lashed out at the recent National Human Right Commission guidelines as just idealism, ignoring _ and ignorant of _ reality by reflecting only progressive views. From a practical point of view, they are not wrong. But should the inherent rights of man always be put behind economy or distorted by ideological bias? True, the panel's recommendations are touching such controversial issues as allowing conscientious objectors and health insurance benefits for transsexual operations. However, if we judge a society's level of democracy and advancement by how it protects the rights of an exceptional few, these can be tolerated. But, what the business leaders cannot tolerate is the commission's ``unwarranted meddling'' in economic issues. Particularly, they say the NHRC's labor-related advice would seriously hurt the national economy. Such concerns are not groundless, as paying equal wages to regular and irregular workers doing same jobs would sharply increase labor costs. Doing away with government mediation of industrial action could also lead to grave paralysis of public services. In reality, though, far more noticeable problems are the ever-widening wage gap between full- and part-time workers as well as the hasty, excessive exercises of the government's arbitration rights. So this is not an all or nothing, but an in-between. What both the labor and management should realize is these are just recommendations _ no more, no less. The government will submit a five-year human rights improvement plan to the United Nations in June, by making reference to the guidelines, but not entirely based on them. Besides, the panel's report tried to rectify problems in labor laws and practices as repeatedly pointed out by related international organizations. They may not suit domestic reality but surely match advanced standards. We Koreans have been so accustomed to a growth-first policy as to forget the most basic rights of humans, weak or strong, dull or clever _ the right to live, together with other humans. Some newspapers called for disbanding the panel, for having made only unrealizable recommendations. But we need to think of why basic human rights have come to appear idealistic and be synonymous with impracticality in this society. The commission has sufficient reasons to exist; to keep reminding us of this simple question. Most worrisome is the government-business war of nerves on this issue at a time when the two sides should work together for an early economic recovery. It is the government's lot to prioritize and inject some realistic flexibility into the rights panel's guidelines. International standards and public opinion should be the two major yardsticks in this. |