Human rights body’s fall

Seoul must take swift steps to avoid further disgrace

Korea’s human rights organization, once the object of envoy among new democracies, has become a disgrace to the nation.

The National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRC), which barely limped along during the past seven years under successive conservative governments, is now in danger of losing its “A” rating.

When detailing its decision to withhold the top status from the NHRC last week, a global human rights body cited three factors: the Korean body lacks transparency in the appointment of commission members; both commission members and its staffers are not diverse; and it has too few escape clauses to guarantee unfettered activities.

If the NHRC fails to take remedial steps by June 30, the International Coordination Committee of National Human Rights Institutions (ICC) will likely degrade the former’s status to a “B” rating, depriving it of the right to vote and voice opinions.

The decision, though astonishing and shocking, was fully foreseen by most human rights activists since former President Lee Myung-bak sharply reduced its organization, placed a completely unqualified person in its top post, and put it under the direct control of Cheong Wa Dae. Nor has the incumbent president done much to rectify the situation, retaining its head and filling vacancies with her political allies.

It was barely surprising then that the NHRC under Chairman Hyun Byung-chul did almost nothing when powerful agencies suppressed the basic rights of underprivileged people, who protested against various state projects that threatened their already poor standard of living. There is extremely little that a national human rights body can do for an oppressed people if it is not free from government influence, and no national group has shown this better than the NHRC since Hyun took over leadership of it in 2009.

Even more alarming is the Korean body’s reaction to the ICC’s move, saying it is mainly concerned with the composition and institution of the NHRC and has nothing to do with Korea’s human rights situations and activities. Even to laypersons’ eyes, however, the international body’s notification was a roundabout way of warning against the dubious track records of NHRC under the current chairman. As things stand now, Hyun and his commission are unlikely to take convincing measures by the deadline, suffer degrading and bringing about a real disgrace to its country.

Despite problematic policies and reneging on many of her campaign promises, President Park Geun-hye has enjoyed handsome approval rating thanks mainly to two things: she attempted to enhance national prestige abroad and normalize what’s abnormal at home.

The free fall of the NHRC undermines both pillars of Park’s administration. President Park should replace Hyun, a former law professor, with a human rights expert, and give the new chairman prerogatives to “normalize” the agency and restore “national prestige.” HNRC, set up by former President Kim Dae-jung in 1997, received “A” status in 2004 under former President Roh Moo-hyun, and in 2008 just before Lee deformed it.

What Park should do is simple: put down the temptation to keep the entity on a short leash, and return the NHRC to the independence it had in the days before Lee. The Korea Times