SOUTH KOREA: Case of Gangjeong &#8211; Good example of worst governance

Tagged as: case book of North Korea's INfringement of Human RIght, NHRCK, north korean human rights

in Human Rights Defenders, International HR Campaigns

BERSIH 2.0 – Fair and Free Elections in Malaysia Campaign

by sooyonsuh on May 4, 2012

“Only when elections are clean and fair, can citizens be real masters of their own destiny and expect holders of public office to act accountably and effectively.”

This is the tag line for BERSIH 2.0, an international campaign created in 2006 to reform the electoral process in Malaysia. Started in the Malaysian Parliament building lobby attended by political party leaders, civil society groups, NGOs and prominent Malaysian leaders gathered and launched the BERSIH 2.0 campaign. The Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (also known by its Bahasa Malaysia name “BERSIH”) has the objective of campaigning for a clean and fair elections in Malaysia. It has gone strong for three and a half years aiming to effectively monitor the political divide in the country.

They had a successful landmark public demonstration in November of 2007 where thousands of Malaysians took to the streets to support the cause.

The campaign has now gone international with campaigns being carried out in Seoul and Busan in South Korea to name a few.

BERSIH 8 Points Demand:

Bersih’s calls are summarized in the following 8 points:

1. Clean the electoral roll

The electoral roll is marred with irregularities such as deceased persons and multiple persons registered under a single address or non-existent addresses. The electoral roll must be revised and updated to wipe out these ‘phantom voters’. The rakyat have a right to an electoral roll that is an accurate reflection of the voting population.

In the longer term, BERSIH 2.0 also calls for the EC to implement an automated voter registration system upon eligibility to reduce irregularities.

2. Reform postal ballot

The current postal ballot system must be reformed to ensure that all citizens of Malaysia are able to exercise their right to vote. Postal ballot should not only be open for all Malaysian citizens living abroad, but also for those within the country who cannot be physically present in their voting constituency on polling day. Police, military and civil servants too must vote normally like other voters if not on duty on polling day.

The postal ballot system must be transparent. Party agents should be allowed to monitor the entire process of postal voting.

3. Use of indelible ink

Indelible ink must be used in all elections. It is a simple, affordable and effective solution in preventing voter fraud. In 2007, the EC decided to implement the use of indelible ink. However, in the final days leading up to the 12th General Elections, the EC decided to withdraw the use of indelible ink citing legal reasons and rumours of sabotage.

BERSIH 2.0 demands for indelible ink to be used for all the upcoming elections. Failure to do so will lead to the inevitable conclusion that there is an intention to allow voter fraud.

4. Minimum 21 days campaign period

The EC should stipulate a campaign period of not less than 21 days. A longer campaign period would allow voters more time to gather information and deliberate on their choices. It will also allow candidates more time to disseminate information to rural areas. The first national elections in 1955 under the British Colonial Government had a campaign period of 42 days but the campaign period for 12th GE in 2008 was a mere 8 days.

5. Free and fair access to media

It is no secret that the Malaysian mainstream media fails to practice proportionate, fair and objective reporting for political parties of all divide. BERSIH 2.0 calls on the EC to press for all media agencies, especially state-funded media agencies such as Radio and Television Malaysia (RTM) and Bernama to allocate proportionate and objective coverage for all potlical parties.

6. Strengthen public institutions

Public institutions must act independently and impartially in upholding the rule of law and democracy. Public institutions such as the Judiciary, Attorney-General, Malaysian Anti-Corruption Agency (MACC), Police and the EC must be reformed to act independently, uphold laws and protect human rights.

In particular, the EC must perform its constitutional duty to act independently and impartially so as to enjoy public confidence. The EC cannot continue to claim that they have no power to act, as the law provides for sufficient powers to institute a credible electoral system.

7. Stop corruption

Corruption is a disease that has infected every aspect of Malaysian life. BERSIH 2.0 and the rakyat demand for an end to all forms of corruption. Current efforts to eradicate corruption are mere tokens to appease public grouses. We demand that serious action is taken against ALL allegations of corruption, including vote buying.

8. Stop dirty politics

Malaysians are tired of dirty politics that has been the main feature of the Malaysian political arena. We demand for all political parties and politicians to put an end to gutter politics. As citizens and voters, we are not interested in gutter politics; we are interested in policies that affect the nation.
Posted

For more information please visit:

1) Campaign Participation in Korea http://www.facebook.com/Bersih3.0SouthKoreaSeoul

2) Bershi 3.0 Official Home Page: 530769 362674920437931 136579126 n BERSIH 2.0 Fair and Free Elections in Malaysia Campaign

3) Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/BERSIH2.0OFFICIAL

Tagged as: bersih 2.0, fair elections, free election, international campaign, malaysia

http://www.koreaherald.com/national/Detail.jsp?newsMLId=20120503001069

Candlelight Vigil against U.S. Beef Resurface

by sooyonsuh on May 4, 2012

in Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Health

This year marks the 4th anniversary since Korean citizens took to the streets of Seoul in masses to hold a candlelight vigil in protest of U.S. beef imports.

South Korea was the United States number one beef importer until 2003 when all imports were banned after a case of the bovine spongiform encephalopathy or more well known as Mad Cow disease, which is a fatal neurodegenerative disease in cattle, was found in the United States. A steady reopening of beef imports to South Korea was attempted starting in 2007 with a strong response against it. In 2008, President Lee Myung-bak attempted to reopen U.S. beef imports bringing citizen outcries protesting the decision. Despite the protests imports officially opened on July 1, 2008 igniting massive protests and candlelight vigils that brought out more than 1.5 million to the streets of Seoul over a period of a couple of months protesting beef imports and the Free Trade Agreement (FTA).
The recent case of Mad Cow found in California resurfaced the sensitive controversy of U.S. Beef imports. Despite the Mad Cow scare, the Korean government have stated to not stop U.S. beef imports. This enraged many and yet again took to the streets on May 2, 2012 to protest American beef.

As reported by the Korea Herald, “In 2008, the government promised that it would stop all U.S. beef imports if a single case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy was reported in the U.S. The authorities must keep to their words, shut down the trade and work on the renegotiation of the overall Korea-U.S. free trade agreement,” an association of civic groups against U.S. beef distribution said. Many expressed their dissatisfaction with changing their proclaimed position on the issue, exclaiming that problematic meat can be identified through inspection.

Sources:

http://news.khan.co.kr/kh_news/khan_art_view.html?artid=201204261847195&code=920100=

http://news.khan.co.kr/kh_news/khan_art_view.html?artid=201204262209275&code=920501

Tagged as: beef imports, free trade agreement, FTA, Health, protests, U.S. beef, united states

in HR Reports by International NGOs

CIVICUS-PSPD UN Universal Periodical Review Submission for South Korea

by sooyonsuh on April 26, 2012

Republic of Korea
Submission to the UN Universal Periodic Review
14th Session of the UPR Working Group
Submitted 23 April 2012

Joint Submission by CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation, and People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy (PSPD). NGOs in General Consultative Status and Special Consultative Status with ECOSOC

1. CIVICUS: Alliance for Citizen Participation

Web: www.civicus.org, Contacts, Ms. Renate Bloem, Email renate.bloem@gmail.com and Ms. Agnes Kabajuni Email: agnes.kabajuni@civicus.org T. +27 11 833 5959 F. +27 11 833 7979 2. People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy (PSPD) Web: http://www.peoplepower21.org/English Contact Ms. Gayoon Baek Email: gayoon@pspd.org T. +82 2 723 5300 F. +82 2 6919 2004

1. (A) Introduction
1.1 CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation is an international movement with members in more than 100 countries worldwide. Established in 1993, CIVICUS nurtures the foundation, growth and protection of citizen action throughout the world, especially in areas where participatory democracy and citizen’s freedom of association are threatened.

1.2 People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy (PSPD) was founded in 1994 by activists, scholars and lawyers who had engaged in various democratic movements. PSPD is a civil organisation dedicated to promoting justice and human rights in Korean society through the participation of the people. It has been serving as a watchdog against the abuse of state power, working on socio-economic reform, protecting and promoting human rights and peace and disarmament issues. It has developed various activities to bring justice and democracy in Korean society including evoke public awareness through campaigns, filing administrative and public litigation and petitioning legislation.

1.3 In this document, CIVICUS and PSPD outline urgent concerns related to restrictions on civil society activities and the freedoms of expression, association and assembly in the Republic of Korea.
 Under Section B, CIVICUS and PSPD highlight concerns regarding the freedom of assembly
 Under Section C, CIVICUS and PSPD highlight concerns regarding the freedom of expression
 Under Section D, CIVICUS and PSPD highlight concerns regarding freedom of association
 Under Section E, CIVICUS and PSPD highlight concerns regarding deportation of foreign civil society members
 Under Section F, CIVICUS and PSPD make recommendations to the Government of the Republic of Korea

2. (B) Concerns regarding the freedom of assembly

2.1 Article 21 of the 1987 Constitution of the Republic of Korea guarantees the freedom of assembly and explicitly states that the “licensing of assembly and association shall not be recognised.” Article 21 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to which the Republic of Korea is a party also guarantees the freedom of peaceful assembly. Between 2008 and 2012, several restrictions have been placed on the freedom of peaceful assembly through application of the Assembly and Demonstration Act as well as the Criminal Act.

2.2 Article 6(1) of the Assembly and Demonstration Act (Act) requires that any person who wishes to hold an outdoor assembly or demonstration shall submit a report to the competent police station with details regarding the planned event. According to the Article 8 of the Act, the police may ban an assembly or demonstration if it deems that it poses a direct threat to public peace and order. Violation of the ban can invite punishment of imprisonment of up to two years or a fine. Existence of this provision acts as a major impediment to the freedom of assembly and makes reporting assemblies and demonstration as de facto permit system. Under this circumstance, the police can make arbitrary decisions on granting assemblies and demonstrations.

2.3 There are serious concerns regarding the restrictions on the freedom of peaceful protest with regard to the construction of a naval base in Gangjeong village in Jeju Island. The Ministry of Defence and the Navy of the Republic of Korea are enforcing the construction of a naval base at Gangjeong village without proper consultation with villagers which is creating a situation of conflict. The naval base construction at Gangjeong is being pushed under the name of a national project with violence being frequently employed. People in Gangjeong village have been protesting for years against the Government’s violence and attempts to construct the naval base. As of 14 April 2012, 442 people were arrested and/or detained due to their actions against the construction of naval base.

2.4 In March 2012, two activists, Mr. Song Kyung-Dong, a poet and Mr. Jeong Jin-Woo, a member of the New Progressive Party were charged under the Act for holding an unlawful assembly despite the fact that they organized a peaceful assembly for solidarity in support of labour activist. In January 2011, Mr. Park Rae-gun and Mr. Lee Jong-hoe, two human rights activists, were handed out suspended sentences for their role in a 2009 peaceful protest in support of victims of a forced eviction in Seoul that resulted in fatalities. The two activists were charged with “organising an illegal assembly” and “blocking traffic” despite a March 2010 noting by the Constitutional Court that peaceful assemblies may result in traffic disruptions and activists should not be charged only because “blocking traffic” under the Criminal Code.

2.5 The UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression in his June 2011 report has highlighted the issue of lack of accountability of law enforcement officials for alleged use of excessive force against peaceful demonstrators.

3. (C) Concerns regarding the freedom of expression

3.1 Article 21 of the 1987 Constitution of the Republic of Korea guarantees the freedoms of speech and the press with an explicit prohibition on censorship. Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to which the Republic of Korea is a party also guarantees the freedom of expression and the right to hold opinions without interference.

3.2 In contrast to the Constitution and international law provisions, the National Security Act criminalises praising or encouraging “anti-state” groups. This blanket provision remains an impediment to freedom of opinion and expression. Additionally, the internet remains a highly restricted space and a number of internet users critical to the Government’s actions have been harassed.

3.3 In February 2012, in an apparent case of restriction of the freedom of expression, Mr. Jeong-gun Park was arrested under the National Security Act for re-tweeting the message, “long live Kim Jong-il” from the North Korean government’s official twitter account even though he claimed that his tweets were meant to ridicule North Korea’s authoritarian leaders rather than to support them.

3.4 The internet remains restricted in the Republic of Korea on the grounds of national security and through the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection, etc. (Network Act).. Technically, the Korea Communications Standards Commission (KCSC) can request internet service provider to delete certain content that they find illegal. The KCSC’s vaguely defined standards and wide discretionary power to determine what information should be deleted on the internet remain a matter of concern. The number of blocked websites under the National Security Act has increased from 2 in 2008 to 139 in July 2011 is another matter of serious concern.

4. (D) Concerns regarding freedom of association

4.1 Article 21 of the 1987 Constitution of the Republic of Korea guarantees the freedom of association. Article 22 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to which the Republic of Korea is a party also guarantees the freedom of association with others, including the right to form and join trade unions for the protection of his interests.

4.2 Unfortunately, in the Republic of Korea, serious concerns persist with regard to the denial of freedom of association to foreign migrant workers and discrimination with regard to their right to form trade unions. In relation to the Ministry of Labour’s rejection of legal registration of the Migrants Trade Union (MTU), the Seoul High Court has ruled that the Republic of Korean Constitution and the Trade Union Law protect the right to freedom of association of all those who enter into an employment relationship as workers, including undocumented migrants. Despite the ruling, the Ministry of Labour continues to deny the MTU’s legal status and on several occasions members of MTU have been arrested and deported.

5. (E) Deportation of Foreign Civil Society Members

5.1 Article 1 of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders mandates that “Everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, to promote and to strive for the protection and realisation of human rights and fundamental freedoms.” Nonetheless, in a number of instances, foreign civil society members have been prevented from carrying out advocacy activities in the Republic of Korea and made to leave the country.

5.2 Since 2010, the Government has extended its repressive arm to international human rights defenders and deported them based on vague grounds using the Immigration Control Act. International human rights defenders have been impeded from attending civil society conferences including the International People’s Conference organised by Put People First!, the Korean People’s G20 Response Action and have been prevented from undertaking solidarity actions on environmental protection in the country.

5.3 On March 18, 2012, Mr. Sato Daisuke from Japan who was supposed to attend the Asian conference on Nukes prior to the 2nd Nuclear Security Summit was also denied entry into the country at the airport. In the same month, Ms. Angie Zelter from United Kingdom and Mr. Benjamin Monnet from France were also deported due to their involvement and protest regarding construction of the controversial naval base in Gangjeong village in Jeju Island.

5.4 In April 2012, three environmental activists from Greenpeace – Mr. Mario Damato, Mr. Fung Ka Keung and Mr. Rashid Kang – were denied entry into the country and it is assumed that the Government wanted to prevent them from carrying out anti-nuclear energy campaigning activities. In November 2010, seven prominent Filipino civil society representatives were denied to enter the country at the airport as they planned to participate in the G20 Seoul People’s Conference, the civil society counterpart to the G20 Summit of the world’s biggest economies. The apparent motivation for the deportation was to preempt mass protests during the G 20 Summit in Seoul.

6 (E) Recommendations to the Republic of Korea

6.1 CIVICUS and PSPD call on the Government of the Republic of Korea to create an enabling environment for civil society to operate in accordance with the rights enshrined in the ICCPR and the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders.

6.2 Regarding restrictions on the freedom of peaceful assembly
 The Assembly and Demonstration Act should be repealed / abolished or suitably amended to ensure that de facto restrictions on the freedom of assembly are removed

 Arrests carried out during public demonstrations should be properly investigated and law enforcement officials carrying out wrongful arrests should be brought to justice

 Law enforcement officers should be trained on the UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms

6.3 Regarding civil society members and individuals detained for exercising their legitimate rights to freedom of opinion and expression
 All prisoners of conscience detained for exercising their freedom of opinion and expression should be unconditionally and immediately released and their sentences should be reviewed to prevent further harassment
 The National Security Act should be repealed / abolished to guarantee freedom of opinion and expression in line with the UN recommendations
 Restrictions on internet content should be removed to enable the freedom of information and expression

6.4 Regarding restrictions on the freedom of association

 Freedom of association for civil society groups including migrant workers association should be guaranteed. Instructions should be issued to ensure non-discrimination of foreign migrant workers’ associations.

6.5 Regarding Deportation of Foreign Civil Society members
 The practice of deportation of foreign civil society members on vague grounds , impediments to their entry and legitimate activities in the Republic of Korea should be discontinued forthwith
 Cases regarding denial of entrance or deportation of foreign human rights defenders on unsubstantiated grounds should be properly investigated and a mechanism to prevent further arbitrary interpretation on the Immigration Control Act should be established

6.6 Regarding open invitation to the UN Special Procedures

 Extend standing invitation to the UN Special Procedures , particularly to the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders, Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Assembly and Association

For the PDF File version of the report please click below.

CIVICUS-PSPD Submission-Republic of Korea-Final

Tagged as: deportation, freedom of assembly, freedom of association, freedom of expression, South Korea, un, UPR

in HR Reports by International NGOs

Amnesty International Annual Report 2011: South Korea

by sooyonsuh on April 26, 2012

South Korea

Head of state: Lee Myung-bak
Head of government: Kim Hwang-Sik (replaced Yoon Jeung-hyun in October, who replaced Chung Un-chan in August)
Death penalty: abolitionist in practice
Population: 48.5 million
Life expectancy: 79.8 years
Under-5 mortality (m/f): 6/6 per 1,000

The government increasingly used vaguely worded national security, defamation and other laws to harass and suppress its critics. In February, the Constitutional Court ruled that the death penalty did not violate the Constitution. In October and November, the Court conducted hearings on whether restrictions on migrant workers’ labour mobility, and military conscription without options for conscientious objection, constituted violations of fundamental rights.

Background

Tensions between South and North Korea were exacerbated by several incidents in the West Sea (Yellow Sea) (see North Korea entry). The National Human Rights Commission of Korea was accused of losing independence and authority under its present leadership after failing to speak out or act on some significant human rights issues. Commissioners and experts resigned and new appointments appeared to be politically motivated.

Freedom of expression and association

Vaguely worded clauses of the 1948 National Security Law (NSL, last amended 1997) were increasingly used to silence dissent and arbitrarily prosecute individuals peacefully exercising their rights to freedom of expression and association. According to the National Police Agency, as of August,106 people were charged and 13 detained under the NSL. By the end of the year, at least seven people were incarcerated for peacefully exercising their right to freedom of expression.

The authorities continued to use Article 7 (praising or sympathizing with anti-state groups) of the NSL to suppress publication or distribution of material deemed to “benefit” North Korea.

In June, prosecutors began investigating staff at the People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy (PSPD) NGO under charges of criminal defamation, “obstruction of performance of official duties” and Article 7 of the NSL. The charges were linked to a letter sent by the PSPD to the UN Security Council expressing doubts over South Korea’s investigation report on the sinking in March of the naval ship, theCheonan (see North Korea entry).
In September, the Seoul Central District Court ruled in favour of defendant Park Won-soon, activist and director of the Hope Institute. In 2009, the National Intelligence Service sued him for damages of US$176,000 for allegedly defaming the “nation” by stating in an interview that the National Intelligence Service was pressuring corporations not to financially support civil society groups.
In December, prosecutors demanded a seven-year sentence under the NSL for Professor Oh Se-chul of the Socialist Workers League of Korea. In August 2008, he and six members of the group were arrested for violating NSL Article 7. Attempts to detain them under the NSL in 2008 had twice been rejected by Seoul Central District Court.
In December, the Seoul Central District Court acquitted four producers and one scriptwriter of Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation (MBC). They had been charged with defaming the former Agriculture Minister and negotiator on US beef imports.

In June 2009, prosecutors accused the MBC staff of distorting facts, deliberately mistranslating and exaggerating the dangers of US beef in an episode of the investigative documentary series PD Notebook, which aired in April 2008. The government blamed the programme for sparking candlelight protests against US beef imports. The Prosecutor’s Office appealed the decision, and the case was pending before the Supreme Court. This followed an earlier acquittal of the five by the same court in January, which the Prosecutor’s Office also appealed against.

Freedom of assembly

The authorities continued to curb people’s right to demonstrate peacefully. A new law, introduced on 1 October in the run-up to the G20 summit, banned demonstrations in “places of security and safety”. Riot police, mostly conscript soldiers, were deployed in large numbers prior to the summit. On 7 November, capsaicin liquid, which causes a burning sensation on contact, was used to control one anti-G20 demonstration.

In November, seven Filipino activists travelling to Seoul to attend non-governmental preparations for the G20 summit, were barred from entering South Korea and forcibly deported. While detained at Incheon International Airport, immigration officers told them they were on a government blacklist.
In November, prosecutors demanded that Park Rae-gun be sentenced to five years and four months’ imprisonment and Lee Jong-hoe to four years’ imprisonment for “hosting an illegal protest” and “blocking traffic”. The protests were calling for justice for those killed in the January 2009 police action against rooftop protests by evicted tenants at a building in the Yongsan district of Seoul. The trial, due in December, was postponed to January 2011.

Conscientious objectors

In November, the Constitutional Court heard oral arguments as they deliberated whether fundamental rights are violated when criminal punishment is imposed on those who, on grounds of conscience, refuse military conscription or reserve force training. They also considered whether failure to provide alternative service options for such conscientious objectors violated their fundamental right to freedom of conscience. As of November, 965 such prisoners of conscience remained in detention.

Migrants’ rights

In October, the Constitutional Court heard oral arguments as part of their deliberations on whether it is constitutional to limit job changes for migrant workers under the Employment Permit System. Thousands of migrant workers continued to be deported.

In November, Trinh Cong Quan, a 35-year-old undocumented migrant worker from Viet Nam, died after attempting to escape from immigration officers by jumping from the factory building where he was working. Immigration authorities had raided the factory without seeking the employer’s permission, as part of a government crackdown on undocumented workers. Trinh Cong Quan had a wife and child in South Korea.
In a five to four ruling, the Constitutional Court in February stated that capital punishment did not violate “human dignity and worth” protected in the Constitution. Three death penalty abolition bills were pending before the National Assembly, one introduced in 2010. Death sentences were imposed, but there were no executions. Sixty-three prisoners were under sentence of death, three of whom were in the process of appeal.

Death penalty

In a five to four ruling, the Constitutional Court in February stated that capital punishment did not violate “human dignity and worth” protected in the Constitution. Three death penalty abolition bills were pending before the National Assembly, one introduced in 2010. Death sentences were imposed, but there were no executions. Sixty-three prisoners were under sentence of death, three of whom were in the process of appeal.

Source: http://www.amnesty.org/en/region/south-korea/report-2011#page

The above is taken from the 2011 Amnesty International Annual Report. For a complete copy of the 2011 Annual Report please visit www.amnesty.org

Tagged as: amnesty international, annual report, conscientious objectors, death penalty, freedom of assembly, freedom of association, freedom of expression, South Korea

in Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

Arising dispute on legislation of “the right to be forgotten”

by Inhoe Jeong on April 18, 2012

The right to be forgotten is the right to delete personal information posted on blogs and SNS such as pictures before plastic surgery and videos of oneself recorded and uploaded by someone else. It also includes information of a dead person. The right to be forgotten is discussed mainly in countries that have high awareness in human right. Especially, EU revised its information protection law, ensuring user’s right to demand the website to delete their personal information that is preserved without legal ground. Media reports such as newspaper article and police investigation reports are not subject to these requests, but still are under disputation.

Viviane Reding, the vice president of EU Commission explained the purpose of the revision; “now that the distribution of internet is worldwide, personal information can be spread out and be abused very easily. There is need to reinforce the protection.”

However, major IT companies such as Microsoft, Google and Facebook are opposing to the legislation and reinforcement of the right to be forgotten. They are doubtful whether it is possible to delete certain person’s information from vast pool of online information. Also, the Business Software Alliance worries that the legislation will hinder development of internet

Taeun Goo, a lawyer (the law firm “Happy Maru”) said that unlike Europe, Korea already have the legislations, Information Communication Law and Personal Information Protection law, that enforce a person the right to demand any insulting postings be erased. Some also worry that the right to be forgotten might refine the record of history. For example, what if descendants of pro-Japanese wanted the records or their relationship with their ancestors erased? Moreover, it will be very difficult for civil unions and labor unions to monitor flaws and injustice of politicians and corporate leaders.

Source of picture: http://news.zum.com/articles/2102148?c=08

http://news.zum.com/articles/2102148?c=08
http://www.hani.co.kr/arti/economy/it/516193.html
http://www.ddaily.co.kr/news/news_view.php?uid=89417
http://www.hankyung.com/news/app/newsview.php?aid=201203267201g&sid=01040205&nid=000&ltype=1

http://www.fnnews.com/view?ra=Sean0101m_View&corp=fnnews&arcid=201203300100253830014988&cDateYear=2012&cDateMonth=04&cDateDay=02

Tagged as: right to be forgotten

South Korea Deportation Issues

by Dustin Cole on April 13, 2012

in Deportation

Recently, there have been a frequent number of cases of deportation of Human Rights Defenders in South Korea. To be aware of these human rights infringements of human rights defenders as well as the abuse of authoritative power by the government, we have listed all the deportation cases that occurred in South Korea. We have also attached relative news coverage and official statements released by various human rights organizations addressing the issue on each case. You can see the cases here, or by clicking the link in the navigation bar.

in HR Official Statements by NGOs Abroad, HR Official Statements by NGOs in Korea, International HR Campaigns, Official Statements

[Statement] SOUTH KOREA/BURMA: South Korean corporate and government should not exploit Burma’s liberal movement

by sooyonsuh on April 13, 2012

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AHRC-FST-025-2012
April 13, 2012

A Statement from Korean NGOs forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission

SOUTH KOREA/BURMA: South Korean corporate and government should not exploit Burma’s liberal movement

Recently the movements such as nomination Aung San Suu Kyi, in Burma election have shown positive progressive movement of democratization in Burma. However, even after the official liberalization, it is still plausible to say that Burma is still being controlled by military authorities with an iron fist. Even if the military is still occupying Burma and many people were struggling to promote democracy in the past, the movement could have had a positive progress due to people’s aspiration and effort for the country’s liberalization.

However, the Korean society is not completely welcoming Burma’s democratization process. According to the recent press, EU, US and Japanese Corporate are showing interest in heavily investing in Burma as they fear that they had lost the Burma market to other countries such as China, Korea, and India during the government modification. As Burma government stated that it would step back from liberalization and human rights issues, the multinational corporate are willing to take advantage of the country as their enormous field of competition. Therefore, the already existing infringement of human rights and environment from development exploitation, corruption of multinational corporate and labor repression will be even more applied and worsened.

Even if a country has certain standard of democracy, 99 percent of the people are suffering from constant economic struggles due to today’s Neo-liberalism economic structure which only protects the economic benefits of corporate. For Burma, it is nearly impossible for the country which has recently been in the process of democratization to stand up against the exploitation of such enormous corporate. The Korean society has acknowledged this phenomenon through the investment of Korean enterprise.

As Burma became known for a country worth investing with the protection of its own government, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy and many Korean companies are promoting Myanmar-Korea Economic Forum in April 6. Also, South Korean government has announced it will be providing ODA to Burma in a form of “Saemaul undong(New Village Movement)” for rural development system and also advise active investment. However, Daewoo International and Korean Gas Corporation’s gas development of gas pipeline construction across Burma to China has started and the infringement of human rights is already being brought to the surface. In January 2010, Korean apparel factories on industrial zone in Langoon had labor strikes against the brutal working conditions. Last year, a company called KMDC announced their huge Burma Gas Development project, bringing political controversy.

The multinational enterprise’s insensitive investments without considering the rights of laborers and inhabitants are also a serious issue. Burma Environmental Working Group (www.bewg.org) is presenting a statement which claims that the investment should follow the boundaries of human rights and environment protection.

Until the citizens of Burma can freely choose the government which can independently represent the citizens, the investment made to the country needs to be more considerate and sensitive to the issue of human rights and environment protection. Over the years, Burma has already suffered because of the militaristic government and its protected multinational corporate. By exploiting the fact that Burma is slowly being democratized, South Korean government and enterprises should not agonize and burden the Burma citizens with indiscreet investment.

We demand the following:

Before South Korean enterprises invest in Burma, they must fairly and transparently proceed human rights and environmental impact assessment
South Korean enterprises investing in Burma must follow the international standard such as OECD MNE guideline or ILO Labor Standards.
In the process of natural resource development, human rights infringement such as forced eviction or forced labor must not be participated.
South Korean government needs to prepare a countermeasure to prevent and protect in case of environment and human right violation by Korean enterprises investing in Burma
For ODA of South Korea, government must establish standards which protect human rights and environment.

April 9 2012

Democratic Legal Studies Association
Human Rights Education Center, DEUL
Imagination For International Solidarity
Korean House for International Solidarity
Korean Public Interest Lawyers’ Group
National Association of Professors for Democratic Society
Network for Glocal Activism
Palestine Peace Solidarity
People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy
People’s Solidarity for Social Progress
RANGZEN

# # #

About AHRC: The Asian Human Rights Commission is a regional non-governmental organisation that monitors human rights in Asia, documents violations and advocates for justice and institutional reform to ensure the protection and promotion of these rights. The Hong Kong-based group was founded in 1984.

Working Hour Cutback under Discussion

by Sodam Kim on April 12, 2012

in Business and Human Rights

Post image for Working Hour Cutback under Discussion

Koreans work 2193 hours per year-444 hours over the OECD average. While long working hours were praised in the 1960s as a contribution to industrialization, they are currently a target of attack. The high youth unemployment rate is said to be the result of long working hours. It was found that Hyundai hired not a single employee during 2005-2010; meaning that it managed increased output with same workers. Lengthy working hours also lowers quality of life. Fathers were isolated from their families by endless holiday working hours. As a response, the Korean government is considering restricting holiday work by regarding it as ‘added hours’, which is limited up to 12 hours per week.

Major car manufacture companies have already made some reforms. Kia and Hyundai labor unions agreed with their companies to shorten working hours. Not wanting salaries to be cut back, the labor union demanded monthly pay instead of hourly wage. At the same time, the workers asked for an enlargement of their production line to avoid difficult work.

Owners of small and medium-sized businesses, however, expressed concerns. Production capacity would be lowered significantly by cutting working hours back, say many owners. Workers also cannot just welcome shorter working hours. According to the statistics of the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Businesses, extra pay constitutes a huge part of the salary. Average base pay was about 1500 thousand won; extra pay 350 thousand won-about 20% of the whole salary. Thus, if working hours are shortened, it would lead to significant loss of wage.

Jae-hwan Park, the minister of employment and labor, indicated that he would induce companies to shorten working hours simultaneously. “This is just like a prisoner’s dilemma,” he says. “Companies think that they would suffer a loss if they shorten working hours before others do. Therefore, I would attract them to cut down working hours at one time.”

While workers can face a cut of wage due to shortened business hours, it would be better from a long-time perspective for not only their children, but also themselves. Indeed, money is not everything.

Sources
Kyeonghyang,
http://news.khan.co.kr/kh_news/khan_art_view.html?artid=201204052041145&code=940702
http://news.khan.co.kr/kh_news/khan_art_view.html?artid=201204052041105&code=940702
http://news.khan.co.kr/kh_news/khan_art_view.html?artid=201204052041105&code=940702
Pressian,
http://www.pressian.com/article/article.asp?article_num=20120118110752
Kukmin,

http://news.kukinews.com/article/view.asp?page=1&gCode=kmi&arcid=0004303993&cp=nv

Tagged as: hyundai, Hyundai Motor Company, Labor, labor rights, labor union, laborer's right, ministry of employment and labor, workers' rights

in Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Freedom of Expression, Gangjeong Village Jeju - Naval Base Construction, Housing, HR Official Statements by NGOs Abroad, Human Rights Defenders, Official Statements

[Statement] SOUTH KOREA: Case of Gangjeong – Good example of worst governance

by sooyonsuh on April 10, 2012

SOUTH KOREA: Case of Gangjeong – Good example of worst governance

Statement released by the Asian Human Rights Commission

January 16, 2012

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is disturbed by the arrest of 29 people including those from a religious group for praying in front of the construction site of the naval base in Gangjeong village in Jeju Island on January 10, 2012. They were released after two days after their arrest but the incident delivers a message to the people that the local government can arrest anyone if they feel that their actions relate to the construction of the naval base.

According to the information, Gangjeong village in Jeju Island was designated for a naval base in 2007. Legally, if the government plans to build a facility, the relevant authorities have to obtain the consent of the residents in the area and the decision must be made at a meeting of the villagers. However, according to an interview with Mr. Kang Dong-Kyun, the head of Gangjeong village, a meeting for approval of the naval base was illegally held at that time. It is reported that only 87 out of 1,900 villagers took part in the meeting and everything was passed without due process. The construction has started and has been going on while no investigation has been made in spite of the illegality of the meeting.

It is also reported that almost 95 percent of residents in Jeju Island are against the construction of naval base there but the relevant authorities are pushing forward the construction. Those who opposed the establishment of the naval base have held peaceful protest onwards. Their demands were to withdraw the plan and leave the island as it was. As more construction was made more and more people have supported the villagers and protested against the establishment of the naval base. While the local mainstream media is reluctant to take up this issue, alternative media and foreign media including Al Jazeera have high lightened the issue.

While the protests are going on, the government started taking legal action against anyone protesting against the base. Catholic priests and activists were repeatedly arrested and released and hundreds of villagers have been called by the police for questioning. Under these circumstances, the villagers consider such legal action as a form of threat by discouraging their protest.

Apart from the impact on the environment and ecology which will be caused by the construction of the naval base, the social impact goes far beyond that of being just a local problem. The villagers lived in the location for several decades by fishing and farming. However, after the area was designated as the naval base, democratic values and process in the village was completely ignored and hatred and mistrust among villagers even family members arose. This became worse after legal action against the villagers and activists was taken.

Governance is a process of decision-making and the process by which decisions are implemented. The government is one of the actors in governance and other actors involved, in the current context, are the civil society. Sadly, what the local government of Jeju Island has demonstrated so far is not only misleading but takes advantage of the result of decision-making which was done illegally. The very existence of the government is to provide a place for people concerned to take part in and make voluntary decisions in order to solve a problem, not taking one side and implement the government’s view by force.

In fact, the case of Gangjeong is one of many examples which prevail in South Korea that a law is enough to suppress the opposed without removing the contents of which restrict the fundamental rights of people who are affected by the law. It is common sense that all persons should be entitled to the benefit of a law publically made but the law in itself deprives people of rights and is introduced for a particular group of people not for all. It demonstrates that governance is not able to survive without the rule of law.

Legal action against those opposed to the construction of naval base in Gangjeong village and the arrest of peaceful demonstrators only demonstrates the serious failure of governance as well as misleading of the rule of law under the name of the rule by law. For the last couple of years, the South Korean government emphasis on law and order but without the substantive requirements of the law, it will turn South Korea into a country where a law stands for a particular group and benefit to the group rather than people in common.

Having monitored the situation of Gangjeong village and the arrest or persecution through legal means against the villagers and activists, the Asian Human Rights Commission urges the government of South Korea to stop the arbitrary use of force by the police and military in Gangjeong village in Jeju Island, guarantee the right to peaceful assembly and demonstration and respond to the demand of villagers who are affected by the construction. A policy with no reflection from the affected will only result in the increase of arbitrary use of force as well as gaining of mistrust, not only from the affected people but the population in general.

Document Type :

Statement

Document ID :

AHRC-STM-012-2012

Source: http://www.humanrights.asia/news/ahrc-news/AHRC-STM-012-2012

For more information on the Jeju Island Naval Base Gangjeong Village visit:

https://www.facebook.com/SaveJeju

http://savejejuisland.org/Save_Jeju_Island/Welcome.html