Social justice 25/02/17 Korean rights body under fire for backing embattled president

[성기화 요셉]

National Human Rights Commission's decision violates its status as an independent body, critics say

South Korean lawmakers hold placards reading "Yoon Suk-yeol should resign!" during a rally against him at the National Assembly in Seoul. (Photo: Jung Yeon-je/AFP)

By UCA News reporter

Published: February 18, 2025 12:21 PM GMT

Updated: February 18, 2025 12:25 PM GMT

South Korea’s national human rights body has drawn flak from two leading Asian rights watchdogs for its support for embattled President Yoon Suk Yeol who faces an impeachment trial.

The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) and the Asian NGO Network on National Human Rights Institutions (ANNI) in a Feb. 17 statement expressed concerns over the National Human Rights Commission of Korea’s (NHRCK) controversial decision to recommend guaranteeing President Yoon’s right to defend himself during his impeachment trial.

NHRCK’s recommendation advocates the protection of the right to a fair trial for those accused of involvement in the martial law declaration. Critics, however, say that this merely enables the president to justify his actions, the statement said.

“We urge the NHRCK leadership to take immediate action to safeguard its independence and to adhere to the Paris Principles, which set the standards of effective and credible national human rights institutions,” it added.

During the second NHRCK plenary session on Feb. 10, six of the 11 commissioners, including the chairperson, voted in favor of passing the revised resolution in support of the impeached president, the groups said.

“NHRCK’s position of affirming support for the impeached President directly jeopardizes its credibility as the country’s national human rights institution,” the statement said.

The groups reminded the national rights body of its obligations to protect its independence to maintain its status mandated under the Paris Principles.

“FORUM-ASIA, ANNI, and our members are alarmed that the Commission has still yet to issue an official statement opposing the declaration of Martial Law. Its recent position to support the President’s right to defense in his upcoming impeachment trial continues to put the NHRCK’s independence at stake,” said FORUM-ASIA executive director Mary Aileen Diez-Bacalso.

As a national human rights institution, the NHRCK is obligated to “conduct itself with a heightened level of vigilance and independence” during a state of emergency by “monitoring, documenting, issuing public statements and releasing regular and detailed reports through the media in a timely manner to address urgent human rights violations,” Diez-Bacalso pointed out.

Civil Society groups urged the NHRCK to launch a formal investigation into the declaration of Martial Law in December 2024 and to condemn the human rights violations committed during the event.

Media reports say NHRCK’s plenary meeting on Feb. 10 was met with protesters from both pro-Yoon supporters and opposition groups. Police dispersed the demonstrators.

This was the second high-level meeting for a resolution on Yoon’s unilateral declaration of Martial Law in December after the NHRCK failed to pass the resolution in a meeting scheduled for Jan. 20, the statement said.

The four commissioners – Nam Kyu-sun, Won Min-kyong, Kim Young-jik, and So Ra-mi – who opposed the resolution during the vote on Feb. 10, saying the move would constitute defending the president’s undemocratic declaration of martial law on Dec. 3 last year.

During a press conference on Feb. 11, three of the commissioners announced their resignation in protest of the NHRCK’s decision but this was later rescinded following strong support from civil society to continue their term and fight for the commission’s independence.

Several NHRCK officials have since opposed their leadership’s decision, apologizing for the passage of the agenda.