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Rights commissioner selection process requires transparency
By Kim Se-jeong
Hyun Byung-chul
By Kim Se-jeong
Civic groups have demanded the process of selecting the chief of the state human rights agency be made more transparent to pick a qualified person who is well-versed in the demands of the job.
The position of the National Human Rights Commission (NHCR) head requires knowledge and experience in rights issues to protect and improve the nation’s human rights, they said.
Now with incumbent human rights agency chief Hyun Byung-chul and two other commissioners’ retirements due a month from now, calls are growing for more transparent appointment of people to the posts so the most qualified people are chosen.
Many point out that the rights issues in Korea has regressed rather than progressed as incumbent Chairman Hyun was not well versed about human rights.
The chairperson is appointed by the president under the law, which also gives the president, National Assembly and Supreme Court chief justice the authority to appoint three, four and three commissioners, respectively, to the 11-member body.
But how the commissioners and the chairperson are chosen has never been made public. So calls for an open process have been mounting since the commission was established in 2001.
The International Coordinating Committee of National Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights has long recommended the Korean government change the related laws so that the selection process can be more transparent.
That request was never accepted and, in protest, the committee deferred grading the Korean commission three times over the past two years.
In its latest deferral in May, it said that Korea should “provide broad consultation in the selection process” and “announce vacancies for the position of commissioners and seek opinions from diverse civic forces.”
A group of human rights NGO representatives here also demanded President Park Geun-hye to appoint a new NHCR chairperson more transparently, holding a protest near Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul on July 8.
The activists also argue that new chairperson and commissioners should be people who are better qualified.
“Hyun is not qualified for the post. The appointment was very political. Instead of standing up against the government, the current chairman has kept silent when he was supposed to speak up,” said Shin Soo-kyoung, co-chairwoman of the Human Rights Solidarity for New Society, a Seoul-based NGO.
One example is that the commission did not issue an opinion when the families of the ferry Sewol victims were detained for staging protests last year and in April of this year, according to Shin.
She said the President should appoint a professional human rights activist, not a former politician, former prosecutor or professor.
A law professor, Hyun was appointed by former President Lee Myung-bak and his three-year term was extended in 2012.
Controversy also arose over the qualifications of some other commissioners. Pastor Choi E-woo’s appointment last year was particularly controversial because of his anti-sexual minority views. He was appointed by President Park.
Shin said Cheong Wa Dae doesn’t seem to be in a hurry to look for Hyun’s successor before the end of his term on Aug. 12.
“Cheong Wa Dae has no reason to hurry. One of the three standing commissioners can carry on the job until his successor arrives,” Shin said. “But, the slowness indicates no one at Cheong Wa Dae cares about human rights and that is more worrisome.”