People Power Party Proposes Party-Line Amendment to North Korean Human Rights Act... "Minister Can Appoint If National Assembly Does Not Recommend Directors"

On the 19th, the People Power Party decided to propose the North Korean Human Rights Act as a party bill, allowing the appointment of directors of the ‘North Korean Human Rights Foundation’ without the National Assembly’s recommendation. The bill stipulates that if the Minister of Unification requests the National Assembly to recommend directors but no recommendation is made, the Minister can appoint directors by authority.

On the same day, the People Power Party proposed an amendment to the North Korean Human Rights Act as a party bill. Previously, the party had decided to propose the related law as a party bill at a party meeting and sent a ‘Letter Urging Cooperation for the Launch of the North Korean Human Rights Foundation’ to National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-sik.

The North Korean Human Rights Foundation is an organization that investigates the human rights situation in North Korea and develops policies. Although its establishment was based on the enactment of the North Korean Human Rights Act in 2016, the foundation has not been launched for eight years due to opposition parties such as the Democratic Party of Korea delaying the recommendation of directors.

The amendment stipulates that the National Assembly must recommend directors within 30 days from the date of the recommendation request, and if no recommendation is made, the Minister of Unification must re-request the recommendation within 30 days. If the National Assembly still does not recommend within this period, the Minister of Unification can appoint up to 12 directors by authority.

A People Power Party official stated, "We hope that this legislation will enable the North Korean Human Rights Foundation to operate normally as soon as possible. The People Power Party will continue to devote efforts to related legislation and policy promotion so that the Republic of Korea can actively take the lead in protecting and promoting the human rights of North Korean residents."