[imText1]At a meeting among experts to discuss whether or not to establish a department exclusively in charge of North Korean human rights issues under the new administration, a heated debate took unfolded.
Lee Jae Won, Chair of the Korean Bar Association’s North Korean Human Rights Subcommittee said on the morning of the 25th at a discussion joint sponsored by the “North Korean Human Rights Policy Committee” and “Citizens United for Better Society,” suggested, “For the realistic implementation and consistency in North Korean human rights policy, an organization fully in charge of implementing a goal in North Korean human rights policy and investigating, analyzing, and observing North Korea’s human rights situation is absolutely necessary.” He also insisted that a “North Korean human rights law” which includes setting up such a government organ should be enacted by the National Assembly.
Hwang Woo Yuh, a member of the Grand National Party, said, “From the perspective of the Presidential Transition Team, it seems to have dicided that the National Human Rights Commission should play a central role in the North Korean human rights issue.”
Lee Jae Ho, Editorial Chief at Dong-A Ilbo proposed, “In order to pursue the North Korean human rights policy with consistency, it will be more effective if nongovernmental activity is preserved rather than being affiliated with the administration. Also referencing the precedent of the International Exchange Foundation under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade will be helpful in expanding the scope of activity of North Korea human rights NGOs.”
He added, “A three-party connection should be harmonized where means of vitalizing research of North Korea by civilians and requesting the administration to approve UN resolutions are explored while simultaneously heading into a direction of comprehensive cooperation between international and civil society.”
Yoo Ho Yul, a North Korean Studies professor at Korea University, explained, ＂Civilian organizations have a role in North Korean human rights issues, but there are limits that can only be taken up by a governmental office, so I propose the establishment of a department in charge of these issues.”
[imText2]Professor Yoo pointed out, ＂When the new administration reorganizes its structure, if it does not approach the North Korean human rights issue with seriousness and representation, the tension between conservatives and progressives and the conservatives and neo-conservatives will continue to rise.”
Representative of the Database Center for North Korean Human Rights Yoon Yeo Sang, who suggested the establishment of a ＂North Korean Human Rights Record Depository” insisted, “The human rights situation which has unfolded in North Korea until now should be recorded, investigated, and systematized into a database starting now. Even if the most realistic method cannot be implemented right away, records should be systematically collected before witnesses become deceased or documents become destroyed.”
“Currently in South Korea, investigation, compensation, and restoration of honor are taking place in regards to the human rights oppression during the past authoritarian administrations. In the process before and after reunification, relief and compensation to the victims and adequate punishment of the perpetrators should be carried out with such documents as the basis. In Germany, the human rights oppression situation was also analyzed during the East German period against the backdrop of the Central Records-Keeping Office after the unification of Germany.”
Also, he emphasized, “The existence of a North Korean human rights record depository can be a source of significant mental threat to those involved in North Korea’s machinery of law and human rights perpetrators. By sending a warning that crimes against humanity without statute of limitations will definitely be punished, the prevention of the suppression of human rights violations in North Korea can be anticipated.”
Chair Yoon proposed, ＂During the period of division between East and West Germany, the practice and experience of operating a preservation center for 30 years has given us significant hints. There is a need to benchmark the precedent of the “Holocaust depository” on the East German’s political violence cases based in Salzgitter, a border region with West Germany.
President of Open Radio for North Korea Ha Tae Kyung criticized, ＂ The National Human Rights Commission, under the Roh Moo Hyun administration, has remained adherent to political code rather than having approached the North Korean human rights issue, putting human rights as a universal value..”
The Former Policy Committee Chairman of the Democratic Labor Party Joo Dae Hwan emphasized, “The failure to discuss the North Korean human rights issue among the leftist-progressive camp is a shameful thing. If the human rights issue is not discussed, it is not a leftist-progressive camp.”
