[사설] How did the Republic of Korea become a third-class human rights country?

On June 26, last year, the police seized and searched the office of Park Sang-hak, the head of the North Korean defector group’Free North Korean Movement Association’, which had been spraying warfare against North Korea. [뉴시스]

Korea has not guaranteed human rights and has become a third-class country where corruption is prevalent. Corruption and sexual harassment of public officials, suppression of freedom of expression, and disregard for human rights in North Korea are not one or two. This is the content of the 2020 National Human Rights Report, which is scheduled to be officially published by the US Department of State in the near future. According to the Voice of the United States (VOA), this report highlights cases of corruption and sexual harassment by Korean public officials, including former Justice Minister Cho Kook and former Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon, in the section of “corruption and lack of government transparency” among Korean human rights issues. The US State Department’s past reports have been very different from those that mainly pointed out South Korea’s National Security Law, conscientious objection to military service, and North Korean human rights. Our closest allies pointed out the shameful self-portraits we couldn’t speak for ourselves. One citizen said, “I couldn’t raise my head after hearing the report on the human rights report.” How did the Republic of Korea, which was said to be a free democratic developed country free from dictatorship and poverty, become this place?

The first human rights issue mentioned in the report is the freedom of expression and restrictions on the press, which are the foundations of democracy. In’Freedom of Expression’, he wrote that “(Korea) human rights activists and opposition political leaders criticized it as a violation of freedom of expression.” In’Freedom of the Press’, a journalist raised the case of being sentenced to eight months in prison at the first trial on charges of defaming former Minister Cho Kook. The State Department expressed concern over the sentence of imprisonment for journalists. The’corruption’ was more serious. “As of October 2020, corruption investigations are ongoing against former Minister Cho and his wife, Kyung-Shim Chung,” he said. It was also pointed out that Democratic Party lawmaker Yoon Mi-hyang was accused of using the comfort women fund. Rep. Kim Hong-geol wrote that he was expelled from the party for reporting property reduction when registering as a candidate.

The content of sexual harassment is unfamiliarly specific. It is the case of former Mayor Park and former Mayor of Busan. The report wrote, “(Mayor Park) has repeatedly made physical contact with a female secretary without consent from 2017, and sent a picture of wearing only underwear.” Today, the UN also adopts a North Korean human rights resolution. The UN is scheduled to announce that it “strongly condemns the institutional, widespread, and grave human rights abuses committed in North Korea.” The UN also deals with restrictions on religious freedom in North Korea, freedom of expression online and offline, and kidnapping issues. However, the Moon Jae-in administration has been absent for the third year, ignoring the human rights issue in North Korea.

The problem of corruption and human rights restrictions in our society is actually more serious. Looking at the recent LH incident, the corruption of public officials is out of reach. This is the result of a regime led by a former human rights lawyer who neglected human rights because of pride. The protection of human rights and the prevention of corruption are not issues to be observed just because anyone points it out. It is the basic duty of public officials. I hope the government will try to become an advanced human rights country.