hankyoreh

The International Coordinating Committee of National Human Rights Institutions (ICC) is holding off its rating review of the National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) until it makes its commissioner selection process more transparent.

The move comes in the wake of a March warning that the commission could face a downgrade in its rating. Why does the ICC keep demanding improvements to the commissioner selection process?

The reason, South Korean human rights group members said on Nov. 11, is that it’s concerned about the commission’s independence being compromised. A downgrade is seen as inevitable without steps to remedy the problem of non-experts without a background in human rights activities being chosen as commissioners.

A look at the background of current and former commissioners as listed on the NHRCK shows the problem is indeed serious. The commission has eleven members, including chairman Hyun Byung-chul, three permanent members, and seven non-permanent members. Of the eleven, only four have a history of or experience with human rights-related activities: Solidarity for the Prevention of Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities co-chair Jang Myung-sook, former NHRCK human rights policy bureau chief Kang Myeong-deok, Korean Bar Association civil rights commission member Han Wee-soo, and Ministry of Justice human rights ombudsman and Seoul Bar Association human rights commissioner Yoo Yeong-ha.

In Yoo’s case, his political history of having run in the 2012 parliamentary elections as a candidate for the Saenuri Party has become an issue.

By Jin Myeong-seon, staff reporter

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