Korean Human Rights Commission emphasizes ”guarantee of Yoon Seok-yeol's right to self-defense” in response to question on human rights violations during martial law

The National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHCK) is preparing to hold a special review by the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI) and is taking measures to deal with the emergency state of emergency declared on December 3, 2024.
The government has decided to submit a written response to GANHRI, citing the passage of a bill under former President Yoon Seok-yeol that includes a guarantee of defense rights.
At a plenary meeting on the 26th, the Human Rights Commission passed a motion to "submit a special review response to the GANHRI Approval Subcommittee."
GANHRI had asked the National Human Rights Commission for an explanation on how to deal with the issue of human rights violations related to the declaration of martial law. The National Human Rights Commission, in its draft response, said that it had passed a motion to recommend the protection of former President Yoon's right to self-defense.
At the meeting, it was agreed to maintain this content while amending some of the wording.
However, within the committee, there was a fierce debate over the bill.
Kim Yong-won, a standing committee member who proposed the bill, said, "There are still many constitutional scholars who argue that the crime of treason does not exist, and I still believe that a non-custodial investigation is appropriate."
Chairman Ahn Chang-ho also defended the decision, saying, "I still believe that the decision of the Human Rights Commission (at that time) was appropriate." In response, standing committee member Lee Suk-jin said, "In relation to the declaration of martial law,
"We cannot conclude that there was no violation of the fundamental rights of ordinary citizens, so what is important is how the Human Rights Commission responded to this."
Ultimately, after discussion, the committee members decided at the plenary session at the time that "the president's violation of the constitutional order is unacceptable."
The government also decided to add to the response the fact that it had rejected the "NRC's request for an ex officio investigation and opinion on the declaration of standing martial law."
Prior to the meeting, they held a press conference in front of the Human Rights Commission building, demanding the release of the response to GANHRI and the resignation of Standing Committee Member Kim and Chairman Ahn.
The Human Rights Commission will submit a revised response along with an English translation to the Approval Subcommittee by the 1st of next month.
Based on this, the Approval Subcommittee will hold a special review in Geneva, Switzerland in October this year to decide whether to maintain the A-grade of the Human Rights Commission.
The case arose when civil society groups in the country requested a special review by the Human Rights Committee on GANHRI.