hankyoreh

Choi Young-ae

Amid a string of recent accusations about sexual harassment in South Korea’s athletic community, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) is getting involved. The NHRC had decided to set up a team of special investigators into “sports human rights” to carry out the country’s biggest-ever investigation of assault, sexual or otherwise, in all areas of sports.

On Jan. 22, NHRC Chair Choi Young-ae released an emergency statement in the NHRC building in downtown Seoul. “Officials from the Ministry of Education; the Ministry of Sports, Culture and Tourism; and the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family will be assigned to a special team of investigators into sports human rights under the commission. Over the course of a year, this team will carry out an independent investigation of incidents of sexual violence that have been reported in the field of sports and will implement institutional reforms,” Choi said in the statement.

The team’s main agenda, the NHRC said, is to accurately determine the current status of victims and perpetrators in order to draw up a fundamental and comprehensive plan for reform. “Taking this opportunity to pinpoint the basis of sexual violence in the athletic community and devise countermeasures is not only something to which I’m personally committed but is also the mission of the commission as an agency specializing in human rights,” Choi said.

To achieve this, the NHRC announced that it will carry out its biggest-ever fact-finding investigation; set up a new system for fielding victims’ incident reports; provide interested victims with legal assistance during the investigation so that their cases can be quickly investigated, relief provided and perpetrators punished; and create an independent and permanent state monitoring system.

According to NHRC Secretary-General Cho Yeong-seon, this massive investigation “will be based on a sample spanning all the country’s 130,000 registered athletes, including all age groups and all sports across the country.”

“In addition to this, we’ll be carrying out a full survey of athletes in categories such as ice sports and judo in which issues have recently come to light,” Cho said.

When asked about the survey’s methodology, Cho said it “will begin with training about what constitutes a human rights violation and will move on to detailed interviews when we receive victim reports.”

The NHRC also announced that it would be reviewing the training camps that have been identified as one of the causes of sexual violence. “We’ll be selecting some of the training facilities, including the Korea National Training Center, for site visits as part of our thorough assessment of the training camps operated by each sports organization, national team and school,” Cho said.

Final decisions about the size and leader of the special team of investigators will be made “following deliberations with the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and other relevant government bodies,” Choi said.

Choi also addressed the possibility of extending the team’s period of activity. “We’re planning on a one-year period for now, but we’re committed to this investigation and will extend that period if necessary. This time around, we’re not going to back off when the going gets tough,” she said.

By Kim Min-je, staff reporter

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