By Park Si-soo
A high school student and an Internet-based TV station for migrants have refused to receive awards from the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), saying the commission does not deserve to award the human rights prize.
Kim Eun-chong, a third grader at Youngbok Girls’ High School in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, and the Migrants’ Network TV said “no” to the annual prize that has been awarded since 2003 to honor those who have made a contribution to human rights conditions within the nation.
The award ceremony for them was supposed to be held, Friday — the anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It was the second refusal of this kind since Hyun Byung-chul took the helm of the state human rights watchdog in July last year — liberal-minded awardees of last year, including Lawyers for a Democratic Society, vetoed the award for the same reason.
Hyun has been accused, among liberal activists, of leading the independent commission in a manner friendly to the conservative Lee Myung-bak administration.
In protest against Hyun’s “political bias,” two standing commissioners and a non-standing commissioner offered to resign last month. The internal feud is still unfolding.
“There is no reason to accept an award as the commission is being run arbitrarily by Hyun,” said Somotu, president of TV station, winner of the Chairperson’s Commendation. “The commission’s very independence is in jeopardy.”
The high school student Kim, a grand prize winner in the human rights essay competition for a piece on youth human rights entitled “A School with a Press but No Public Opinion,” explained the reason for her boycott in a statement.
“The commission has failed to act in accordance with the value of human rights it is ultimately supposed to pursue,” the teenager said, reflecting her disappointment with Hyun’s chairmanship.
Chang Hyang-sook, the remaining NHRC standing commissioner, called the situation “heart-wrenching” in a radio interview aired Wednesday
“This is a predicted consequence of Hyun’s problematic management,” Chang said. She urged the chairman to step down to bring the “crippled role of monitoring the society as watchdog” back to normal.