The National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) has decided to submit a response to the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI) ahead of a special review, highlighting its actions regarding the "12·3 Martial Law" incident, including the passage of the agenda to guarantee the right of defense for former President Yoon Suk-yeol.
On May 26, during its 11th plenary session, the NHRCK approved the agenda item "Submission of Response to GANHRI Sub-Committee on Accreditation Special Review." The document will be submitted with some wording revised, but the content concerning the guarantee of the former President Yoon's right of defense will be maintained.
This follows GANHRI's inquiry to the NHRCK regarding its response to human rights violations during the declaration of martial law in Korea. In response, the NHRCK drafted a reply that included, as an example, its recommendation to guarantee the right of defense for former President Yoon, which previously sparked controversy.
During the plenary session, there were differing opinions among the commissioners regarding the agenda. Kim Yongwon, the standing commissioner who proposed the agenda, stated, "Even now, there are a considerable number of constitutional scholars who question whether the charge of insurrection is valid," and added, "I believe that a non-custodial investigation is fundamentally appropriate." Chairperson Ahn Changho also commented, "I still believe the NHRCK's decision at the time was appropriate."
On the other hand, Lee Sukjin, another standing commissioner, countered, "We cannot definitively say that the proclamation of martial law did not infringe upon the basic rights of the people, and it is important to consider how the NHRCK responded to this."
The commissioners also agreed to include in the response the fact that, at the time, the plenary session had rejected the agenda item to conduct an ex officio investigation and express an opinion regarding the NHRCK's response to the President's proclamation of martial law, which disrupted the constitutional order.
Meanwhile, prior to the plenary session, the civic group "Joint Action to Correct the National Human Rights Commission of Korea" held a press conference in front of the NHRCK building, calling for the transparent disclosure of the response contents and demanding the resignation of Commissioner Kim and Chairperson Ahn.
The NHRCK plans to submit the revised response, along with its English translation, to the GANHRI Sub-Committee on Accreditation by June 1. Based on this, the Sub-Committee will conduct a special review in Geneva, Switzerland in October to determine whether the NHRCK will retain its A status accreditation.
This special review was prompted by requests from domestic civil society organizations to GANHRI in October last year for a special review of the NHRCK.
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