South Korea: Statement of resignation from Ms. Kyung-Ran MOON, former standing commissioner of NHRCK
Statement of Resignation
Ms. Kyung-Ran MOON
(Standing Commissioner of the National Human Rights Commission of Korea)
I hereby resign from the post of the standing commissioner of the National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) as
of November 1, 2010. Having no choice but to write a statement of resignation with not even a hundred days left until
the expiration of my term of office, I am truly distressed and grieved. I vividly remember the first day I went to the
NHRCK as a Commissioner with full of joy and expectations in February 2008 and with the mission to take care of human
rights for all. The passion I felt then is still well and alive and, at times, makes my heart beat faster. Nevertheless,
I must resign today, a situation at which I cannot but feel a sense of shame.
Looking back, the first half of my service in the NHRCK were days of motivation, excitement, and satisfaction. Infected
with and electrified by both my colleagues' passion and appeals made to the Commission by various people, I worked with
great enthusiasm. Even when the NHRCK's decisions led to controversies, I understood that these are expressions of
interest in the Commission and I tended to use this as motivation for further studies and deliberation.
In particular, during the first year of my term of office, I traveled all over the country to unearth the new agenda of
"human rights for professional sportsperson" and to induce change in the actual scene. Instead of limiting the NHRCK's
role to that of simply making recommendations, I sought to link investigations, counseling, education, and promotion
organically and thereby to raise awareness and to bring about actual changes on the part of those who were involved in
sports. Vivid, too, are my memories of going everywhere and exploring every place to deal with the violations of
unmarried mothers' right to learning; I also tried to provide fundamental and institutional solutions. Also meaningful
are my investigation, unprecedented in South Korea and seemingly impossible at first, of the human rights circumstances
of female entertainers and subsequent exposure of the violations of their human rights.
On the contrary, recent developments have led to nothing but distress, sorrow, and despair. Following the forced
reduction of the organization of the NHRCK to limit its active role in April 2009, many of my colleagues had to leave
the NHRCK. Although efficient management of the NHRCK was provided as superficial reasons by the Government, I believe
that my colleagues' retirement then was both unjust and forced. I still believe that the reasons and procedures provided
by the Government alike are unconvincing. Once more, I would like to extend my words of comfort and consolation to those
who left.
Since the appointment of the current Chairperson, Mr. Byung-Chul Hyun, the Commission seems to be withering to death
after being crippled and distorted. Unlike other government organs and offices, which are under single heads, the NHRCK
was established as a commission so that it should be operated and decided by the consensus of Commissioners with diverse
backgrounds. However, over the past 1 year and 4 months, in operating the NHRCK, Mr. Hyun has hardly abided by legal
procedures, much less the mission of the Commission itself. Nor does his despotism consist only of one-sidedly striking
the gavel and declaring the session closed when the majority of the Commissioners agree with the proposed case just
because he disagrees with it. Even when he has followed the formal procedures, they are merely a camouflage for
arbitrariness and tyranny, and Chair Hyun all too often changes the standards and principles of the NHRCK for his own
convenience. His recent attempt to revise the man agerial regulations of the NHRCK was to restrict the voting rights of
the Standing Commissioners and to secure a requisite formality to ignore the Standing Commissioners' opinions.
Naturally, I and my colleagues in the NHRCK have striven at times to obstruct such an anti-human rights manner of
operation. However, Mr. Hyun's dictatorship has increasingly worsened so that, now, he does not at all listen to
constructive and indispensable criticism from other people.
An even more serious problem is that it has become difficult for the NHRCK properly to accomplish the mission and play
its role that the state has assigned to. Established to protect fundamental rights from their violations by state power,
the Commission, by nature, cannot avoid discomfiting the Government. The mission of giving bitter recommendations of
consultations to the Government is the reason why the NHRCK was established and why we need the NHRCK. Why the
Commission emphasizes its independence is that the independence is the minimal requirement for the NHRCK to fulfill its
mission as a protector of human rights; in other words, the independence is its justification for existence. I therefore
have worked under the conviction that I have a mission to judge everything with the standard not of politics but
strictly of human rights, regardless of whether it discomforts the Government. Indeed, if the independence is the very
life of the NHRCK, the Commissioners' independenc e likewise is extremely important.
Regrettably, however, Mr. Hyun's ground for judgment has not been based on the standard of human rights. Rather, he has
focused solely on whether or not the Commission's actions could displease the Government. The NHRCK that shrinks back
not to discomfit the Government cannot realize the trust and hope of the people, who created the NHRCK as an extension
of democratization. When the Commission voluntary assumes the deplorable role merely of thinking much of what the
Government says or thinks, in the long run, the existence of the NHRCK will be inevitably in question
Nor have I ever thought that the Commissioners of the NHRCK should change their judgment according to the identity and
whims of their respective recommenders. Consequently, I have lightly disregarded the divisive preconceptions of the mass
media or NGOs that I would be conservative just because I have been appointed by the ruling conservative party. On the
contrary, I have sought to judge everything under the conviction that my mission as a commissioner on the NHRCK should
be based on the standard of human rights; it must not be influenced by any political faction.
However, in a social climate where division according to ideologies and political factions is an everyday occurrence and
one is forced to take sides, my stance and attitude seem to lose its ground and validity. Moreover, I no longer play a
role a human rights advocate because not the NHRCK's activities lacks both expertise and sensibility in human rights and
depends solely on the standard of whether the Commission's activities displease the Government. We are not facing many
issues that the NHRCK naturally and necessarily should have addressed but it has bypassed and remained silent on them.
In other words, the Commission has actually contributed to the regression of the human rights situation in Korea.
Indeed, recent developments within the NHRCK are such that they do not even deserve to be embellished as conflicts
between the conservatives and the progressives.
In this process, many colleagues who were disappointed with the situation of the NHRCK had left the Commission. While
superficially voluntary, some of these cases were in fact forced retirements. Others have mentally and emotionally left
the Commission even though they are still working for the Commission. Still others are discouraged and disoriented by an
anti-human rights situation where one cannot make judgments according to one's convictions but is forced to heed and to
curry favor with the Chairperson. Even amidst a pitiful and heartbreaking situation, I endeavored to accomplish my
mission to the end of my term of office. This is because I thought that it was a public official's duty to cope with and
to maintain his or her position and duties all the more when the situation was unfavorable. I did my utmost to put the
NHRCK, which was increasingly removed from its proper mission, into its original and proper place, however slightly,
even to the extent of arguing with othe rs. I also sought to discover and to resolve human rights agendas that that
could be hidden bypassed by larger and more sensitive issues.
However, these series of situations have made it impossible even to play the least role and to perform the least duties
as a Standing Commissioner of the NHRCK. Relying on his authority and the force of numbers, Mr. Hyun has disregarded
democratic procedures, isolates and excludes both commissioners and staff members who disagree with him and even
distorts the Commission's proper role. In this situation, maintaining my post and fulfilling my duties as a Standing
Commissioner have become not only meaningless but also impossible. Because of my dear colleagues, I could not easily
decide whether to stay or to leave. However, after months of serious consideration, through my resignation as the last
resort, I seek to sound an alarm bell regarding the critical situation of the NHRCK. If this can serve as an occasion
for the Commission to restore its proper role, that, I think, will be my final mission.
Finally, I really want to mention the appointment of the NHRCK commissioners. In my view, much of the current situation
of the NHRCK is due to wrongful appointments. All of the commissioners including the Chairperson must be selected
through transparent and open appointment procedures so that the NHRCK can consist of those who are equipped with human
rights expertise, experiences, and sensibilities. In that respect, I believe that, ultimately, the Government, the
National Assembly, and the Judiciary, all of which are responsible for the appointment of the commissioners, too, cannot
avoid blame for the current chaos of the NHRCK.
Looking back, every moment that I wrestled with human rights agendas for almost 3 years was invaluable. In addition,
there is so much I personally regret. I wonder whether I, blinded by my enthusiasm, did not only and excessively
reproach my dear colleagues instead of encouraging them. I also feel bad that I may have only hurt my colleagues,
however unwittingly, without fully expressing my affection and appreciation for them. I would like to confess my love to
my beloved colleagues, who have worked with the utmost dedication, which, unfortunately, I was not been able to do
before. I wish them and their families' happiness.
About AHRC: The Asian Human Rights Commission is a regional non-governmental organisation monitoring and lobbying human
rights issues in Asia. The Hong Kong-based group was founded in 1984. The above statement has only been forwarded by the
AHRC.
ENDS