Hankyochong: "Enactment of the Anti-Discrimination Act Violates Citizens' Fundamental Rights"

[Asia Economy Reporter Seomideum] The Korea Christian Federation (HanGyoChong), a united organization of Protestant churches, issued a statement opposing the enactment of the Anti-Discrimination Act (Equality Act) and urged the political sphere to stop attempts to legislate the Anti-Discrimination Act.

On the 16th, HanGyoChong stated in the announcement, "Enacting the Anti-Discrimination Act under the pretext of protecting minority human rights infringes upon the basic rights of citizens guaranteed by the Constitution," adding, "It shakes the fundamental constitutional values such as freedom of expression and academic freedom, freedom of conscience and religion, freedom of thought, and the pursuit of happiness, and causes reverse discrimination against the majority of citizens, leading to even more destructive conflicts."

They argued, "The comprehensive anti-discrimination laws enacted and implemented in some European countries are more lenient than the bills submitted to our National Assembly, yet they have not resolved social conflicts but rather caused more serious confrontations and conflicts," and "This law assumes all citizens as subjects of anti-discrimination and defines citizens' lives themselves as areas protected from discrimination, turning perpetrators and victims, accusers and criminals, into a super-conflict-inducing bill."

HanGyoChong added, "Individual anti-discrimination laws and various support bills for disabled people, men and women, workers, migrant workers, and others have already been enacted, leading the way in eliminating discrimination and protecting human rights," and "If there are shortcomings, those laws and policies can be supplemented. We hope the political parties and lawmakers pushing this listen to the voices of the people and regain composure. For the future of the nation and a free and equal Republic of Korea, immediately stop attempts to enact excessive laws."

The Anti-Discrimination Act aims to prohibit all types of discrimination based on gender, race, religion, disability, sexual identity, and more. It was first proposed in the 17th National Assembly in 2007 but has been repeatedly proposed and discarded without proper discussion for 15 years. In the 21st National Assembly, four bills have been proposed: the "Equality Act" by Democratic Party lawmakers Park Jumin and Lee Sangmin, the "Equality and Anti-Discrimination Act" by Democratic Party lawmaker Kwon Insook, and the "Anti-Discrimination Act" by Justice Party lawmaker Jang Hyeyoung. The National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee adopted a plan last month on the 27th to hold a public hearing on the Anti-Discrimination Act.