Human Rights Commissioner Song Doohwan: "22nd General Election Must Strive for Hate Speech-Free Campaign"

Song Doo-hwan, Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK), urged candidates on the 27th through a statement to "fulfill their political responsibilities for an election without hate speech."

Song Doo-hwan, Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission. [Image source=Yonhap News]

Chairperson Song expressed concern, saying, "There is still a possibility that some politicians may use hate and discrimination incitement as a means of election campaigning for party interests."

According to the monitoring results of the 21st National Assembly election campaign conducted by the NHRCK in 2020, a total of 92 cases of hate speech were confirmed in the election campaign materials and promotional activities of parties and candidates. Specifically, 14 cases were related to disabilities, and hate speech related to women and sexual minorities were recorded as 13 and 25 cases, respectively.

Chairperson Song stated, "It is very important to provide equal opportunities for political participation to diverse people, including gender, disability, race, and religion, to promote social diversity and inclusiveness," adding, "Hate speech intimidates both candidates and voters, disrupts healthy debate, and undermines the freedom and fairness of elections."

He continued, "National institutions such as the Election Commission must inspect and take measures to ensure that the freedom and rights of minorities are not violated and that the public discourse is not distorted due to hate speech occurring during the election campaign period."

Chairperson Song also emphasized, "Political parties and candidates should refrain from expressions that foster prejudice and stereotypes against social minorities and take immediate corrective actions if hate speech occurs."