In this Sept. 7, 2018 file photo, kids sing at a kindergarten for employees' children at a silk factory during a government-organized visit for foreign reporters ahead of the 70th anniversary of North Korea's foundation in Pyongyang, North Korea. Reuters-Yonhap

Move signals Seoul's policy shift on North Korean human rights issues

By Jung Min-ho

South Korea is pushing to establish a North Korean human rights foundation in an apparent bid to implement the North Korean Human Rights Act, a law that has remained in name only over the past six years.

The move signals the Yoon Suk-yeol administration's intention to press North Korea to improve its human rights situation, in contrast with the previous Moon Jae-in administration, which opted not to challenge the North.

"Setting up the foundation is one of the key projects we are working on this year," an official at the Ministry of Unification told The Korea Times Tuesday.

The confirmation comes a day after a ministry official, who works at a division dedicated to human rights issues in North Korea, said he had been seeking the cooperation of lawmakers to get the project going during a forum at the National Assembly.

The law, enacted in March 2016, sets clear guidelines for the protection and advancement of human rights for people in North Korea in accordance with the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Establishing a foundation is an important first step.

What comes next is the collection of data on the human rights situation in the North, followed by support for organizations working for the cause and the promotion of inter-Korean dialogue on the issue.

But the first step has not been taken, following an explosive influence-peddling scandal that eventually impeached and ousted former President Park Geun-hye from office in 2017, paving the way for her successor, Moon, to pursue a conciliatory approach to North Korea.

Ruling People Power Party Chairman Lee Jun-seok speaks during a forum on human rights in North Korea at the National Assembly in Seoul, Monday. Yonhap

At the forum, lawmakers of the governing People Power Party (PPP) criticized the previous administration for turning a blind eye to brutal human rights violations in the North.

"What they did constituted a dereliction of duty," PPP Chairman Lee Jun-seok said. "The regime has lost its morality and legitimacy … Yet, the Democratic Party of Korea, failed to appropriately respond to what happened in the North."

Citing the case of former East German leader Erich Honecker, who stood trial for his role in human rights abuses following German reunification in 1990, Lee said keeping track of such crimes in North Korea is especially important if the two Koreas are heading in the direction of reunification.

Rep. Kweon Seong-dong, the PPP's floor leader, said it was wrong for Moon to prioritize his North Korea policy over promoting and protecting human rights.

"Under the Constitution, people who live in North Korea are also our citizens," Kweon said. "The foundation should be launched so it can start working to improve human rights there … The previous government repeatedly refused to co-sponsor the United States' resolution on the issue as if deceiving the public to believe that joining it would trigger a war with the North."

On April 1, 2022, the United Nations Human Rights Council adopted a resolution condemning the North's human rights abuses for the 20th consecutive year. South Korea backed the resolution, but did not co-sponsor it for the fourth consecutive year, in consideration of inter-Korean peace efforts under the former president.

In a recent interview with The Korea Times, Phil Robertson, deputy director of Human Rights Watch's Asia division, urged the Yoon government to resume the policy of co-sponsoring and providing leadership for U.N. resolutions on human rights in North Korea. He also offered the idea of raising its horrible human rights record ― an issue that constitutes a regional threat to peace ― for discussion at meetings at the U.N. Security Council, saying it would help unify the international community to do more to try to stop human rights violations there.