“I left because I couldn’t handle the shame” Human Rights Commission Secretary-General leaves office after 2 years and 9 months [M피소드]

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“Shameful” Human Rights Commission Secretary-General resigns after 2 years and 9 months

Secretary-General Park Jin, who led the National Human Rights Commission of Korea, resigned.

It has been approximately 2 years and 9 months since he took office in January 2022.

On the 18th, President Park wrote on his Facebook page, “I cannot raise my face because I am ashamed and devastated,” and “I am leaving because I cannot bear the shame.”

What has happened to the Human Rights Commission so far?

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What is the background of the ‘Human Rights Commission going backwards’?

“I promised that I would go to the Human Rights Committee to hear again that human rights exist, but ultimately failed.”

At his retirement ceremony, President Park said he had failed to keep his promise when he took office in 2022.

Currently, the Human Rights Commission’s recommendation rate is the lowest since its founding, the number of complaints is less than 1,000 compared to last year, and decisions are being overturned.

The reason why there are criticisms that the Human Rights Commission is not doing its job properly is because various committees have virtually collapsed after a war of words among the members.

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From ‘meeting disruption’ to ‘full committee boycott’

The Human Rights Commission’s meetings began to collapse around April last year.

At the ‘2023 13th Standing Committee’ held at that time, Standing Committee members Kim Yong-won and Lee Chung-sang walked out after showing differences of opinion on the agenda of the ‘Work Commencement Order’, which began public discussion due to the cargo union strike.

Afterwards, the two members repeatedly left the committee when their opinions clashed, and after failing to attend the emergency relief agenda of former Marine Corps Investigation Team leader Park Jeong-hoon in August of last year, they explained that they had “used sick leave” or “had a scheduled business trip,” respectively.

In particular, the two members, along with some non-standing members, ‘boycotted the plenary committee’ last June when the argument that, if unanimity was not reached in the subcommittee, should be allowed to be dismissed or dismissed rather than being submitted to the plenary committee was not submitted.

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Conflict with standing committee members Kim Yong-won and Lee Chung-sang

President Park, a former human rights activist, has been in constant conflict with the newly appointed standing members Kim Yong-won and Lee Chung-sang under the Yoon Seok-yeol administration.

Conflicts continued at every meeting, with standing committee members Kim Yong-won and others explicitly requesting Secretary General Park to leave or insisting that standing committee members and secretariat executives should sit separately.

Since the new Chairman Ahn Chang-ho took office last September, it has been assessed that the opinions of the two members have been given more weight in major decision-making processes.

Secretary-General Park said, “Because the Secretary-General has the concept of a running mate with the Chairperson, the new Chairperson is retiring because I think it is right to work with the new Secretary-General.”

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“Abolishing the practice of unanimous agreement” on the day of the retirement ceremony

After the retirement ceremony, President Park met with MBC reporters and answered “I am worried” when asked about the future of the Human Rights Commission.

He continued, “It has become very difficult since last year, and the difficult situation continues to be expected in the future,” and added, “I believe that the staff of the Human Rights Commission, who are quietly doing their jobs, will get through it well.”

However, at the plenary committee held on the same day after the retirement ceremony, the practice of unanimous subcommittee consensus, which had been maintained for 22 years since the launch of the Human Rights Commission, was abolished.

There are concerns that the decision-making process of the Human Rights Commission may in fact be neutralized because complaints are not sufficiently discussed.

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“Thank you to President Park for giving strength to those who have difficulty speaking out.”

At President Park’s retirement ceremony, figures from civic groups such as the Military Human Rights Center and the LGBT Parents’ Association attended.

Jeong Dong-ryeol, an activist at the Parents’ Association for Sexual Minorities, said, “I can never forget the understanding and support you showed for sexual minorities and their families in the past,” and added, “In a society where discrimination against minorities is rampant, I would like to thank the president for being a source of strength for those who have difficulty speaking out. “Thank you for your consideration,” he said.

Ahn Mi-ja, the mother of Private Yoon, who died in 2014 due to cruel treatment by senior soldiers, said, “There were times when we were happy and other times we were filled with anger, but General Park accepted all of us.”