hankyoreh

but was eliminated from consideration when conservative groups criticized her for engaging in “pro-North Korea” activism.

A controversy erupted when the Ministry of Public Administration and Security disqualified the National Human Rights Commission of Korea’s nominee for the Republic of Korea Human Rights Award.

On November 20, the ministry said it removed Lee Jeong-yi from consideration for the Republic of Korea Human Rights Award after she was nominated by the NHRCK. Lee, 67, is the head of the Busan Family Council to Realize Democracy and the Busan Human Rights Center. There is only one person nominated for the award and approval is usually granted at a Cabinet meeting that follows an assessment process involving vice ministers from related ministries.

In a telephone interview with The Hankyoreh, a ministry official said, “Lee was eliminated from the state medal assessment list at the vice ministers meeting that afternoon. Amid a series of media reports and statements critical of Lee’s qualifications for a medal, it was decided before the assessment process began that she was an inappropriate candidate.” According to the ministry’s guidelines for government awards, it can cancel the nominations of people who are criticized by society, spark public criticism via media reports or are under investigation.

On November 3, Lee was chosen as the sole nominee for the award by a seven-member NHRCK committee that screened approximately 30 candidates recommended by 49 organizations and individuals in October 2007. Lee has been called the “godmother of prisoners of conscience” in Busan because she has played a leading role in protecting political suspects, and she initiated a movement to eliminate the National Security Law in the 1980s, in addition to her many other accomplishments.

When Lee was selected as the NHRCK’s nominee, some conservative media outlets and organizations raised questions about her qualifications, describing her as a “pro-North Korea, anti-U.S. activist” who has a “negative influence on the Republic of Korea.”

An NHRCK official said, “The United Nations has continued to advise (South Korea) to abolish the National Security Law, and we advised the government to scrap it in 2004. I don’t see any reason for (Lee’s) disqualification.” The NHRCK official also accused the ministry of “using a political yardstick while ignoring a humanitarian decision.”

Established in 2006 as an annual award, the Republic of Korea Human Rights Award honors an organization or individual dedicated to improving human rights.

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