[Editorial] NHRC Lacks Data or Lacks Interest in North Koreans` Human Rights?

A few weeks ago, the National Human Rights Commission stretched a long way and intervened in a matter lying outside its jurisdiction. It is disappointing to see that it doesn`t know very much about what it is doing. Its president, Kim Chang-kuk, when asked whether civil rights violations happen more frequently in North or South Korea, answered, "I don`t have any gauged data." This is truly shocking. We do not doubt his attitude though towards human rights violations in North Korea.

When public anger ensued, Kim explained that he didn`t have access to intelligence about the real human rights situation in North Korea. What in the world did he mean by "gauged data" anyway?

In any case, we have plenty of sources from which we can obtain reliable and first-hand information: testimonies of North Korean refugees, and reports, for instance, made by NGOs, the U.S. State Department and Amnesty International. Did Kim answer in this way in order not to offend the North Korean regime? If it was the case, his attitude is troubling.

Kim seems unwilling to admit to the serious human rights violations in the North. He deserves our criticism in this respect. Our Constitution makes it clear that North Koreans are citizens of South Korea. In this respect, it is one of the most basic duties of the commission to try to understand what is happening in the North and try to indemnify the situation. If Kim had failed to take those measures, he should have first looked in the mirror. In other words, he neglected his duties. Nonetheless, he proudly answered he did not know and that was why he could not give an answer.

The commission also issued a statement that countered actions in the Iraq war. Government officials frowned at this as the commission is only authorized to intervene in matters concerning Koreans and foreign nationals living in South Korea. The commission clearly went too far. Did the commission secure enough data on human rights violations for the Iraqi people? Was that why it could issue such a statement?

Currently, various international organizations are paying more attention to the agony North Koreans face. The EU, for example, submitted a resolution to the U.N. condemning the severity of human rights violations in North Korea. Nevertheless, domestic organizations, whose responsibility is obvious and apparent, haven`t the slightest clue concerning the situation in the North. We sincerely wish the commission should act, at least, in the manner it was meant.