Rights watchdog criticized for poor handling of sex offenses

By Kim Rahn

An alliance of 86 civic groups has called on an international human rights body to downgrade Korea’s rights agency, citing its poor handling of sexual offense cases.

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), headed by Hyun Byung-chul, has come under mounting criticism for its handling of two NHRC officials involved in a sexual abuse case.

The civic alliance sent a letter to the International Coordinating Committee of National Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights (ICC) in June, claiming that the NHRC does not abide by the Paris Principles, which prescribe the status, composition and functioning of national human rights institutions.

The group has demanded the ICC lower the Korean watchdog’s grade.

The organization evaluates national human rights institutions every five years and grades them between A and C. The NHRC was graded A when it joined in 2004 and maintained that level in 2008. The ICC put off its latest grading for the Korean agency in March, with a re-evaluation result due soon.

The Korean watchdog has often been criticized by rights groups here since Hyun’s inauguration in 2009; in particular, Hyun’s alleged pro-government attitude in discrimination issues has provoked ire. Civic groups and opposition parties have long pressurized him to quit.

The alliance claimed the NHRC’s role in defending human rights is weakening, especially for gender issues and the handling of sex offense cases.

“We see many cases where sexual harassment victims seek the NHRC’s help but get hurt or confused by NHRC investigators’ high-handed manner and belittlement of their pain,” they said in the letter.

They gave examples, where victims suffered from additional mental trauma just from meeting the watchdog.

In June last year, a female victim told an NHRC investigator that she wanted a public apology from an offender, which made the investigator reply, “I don’t understand. How can you know whether he truly apologizes or not? I think demanding compensation is better. A public apology can infringe on his human rights.”

In a sexual harassment case at a factory in Incheon in May, an NHRC investigator had the victim face the offender for dual questioning and sent a questionnaire about the case to all workers of the factory, disclosing the victim’s name.

Added to this was an incident involving the NHRC itself. “The sexual harassment case within the NHRC took place because the organization lacked sensitivity of human rights and victims’ feelings, not because a specific individual had bad behavior,” Myeong Sook, an activist in the alliance, said.

A female junior worker at the NHRC allegedly suffered from sexual harassment from two senior officials lasting from February to September. Allegedly, the two men leaned against her when talking to her in the office and held her hand without her consent; they also made sexual comments to her and said they loved her.

She later petitioned against them with the NHRC on Sept. 30. The NHRC ordered the offenders to take lectures on sexual harassment and dismissed the petition, keeping the victim and the offenders working in the same office.

The NHRC did not conduct an official investigation into the case until she sent a certified mail to demand punishment for the offenders, although the case had already been reported to high-ranking officials.

She then decided to take a leave of absence, separating herself from the offenders, and subsequently filed a complaint against one of the two men with the police on Nov. 1.