April 6- On the heels of the NHRCK’s restructuring, pushed by the Ministry of Public Administration and Security (‘MOPAS’) through its proposal to amend a Presidential Decree on the reorganization of the NHRCK, the NHRCK made an announcement on April 6 expressing its regret on the restructuring and pledging its continued determination to promote human rights in Korea. Following the entry into force of the restructuring bill on April 6, NHRCK’s 5 bureaus were conflated into three while the Provisional Disposition that the NHRCK requested on March 30 is still pending before the Constitutional Court.
With a reduction in staff of 21.2%, the NHRCK is expecting an increased burden and this, in turn, will deteriorate its efficiency contrary to the MOPAS’s expectations. In addition, the restructuring plan aroused international concern. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Chairperson of the Asia Pacific Forum of National Human Rights Institutions (APF), and the Chairperson of the International Coordinating Committee of National Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights (ICC) issued a letter to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MOFAT) expressing their concern regarding the restructuring plan. Moreover, seven national human rights institutions presented a joint statement at the 10th regular session of the Human rights Council on March 24, delivering their message of concern regarding the recent increase in severe infringements on the independence of national human rights institutions.
Since the restructuring plan was announced by MOPAS, the NHRCK has strived to resolve the issue by taking appropriate legal steps. On March 30, the NHRCK filed a petition with the Constitutional Court challenging MOPAS’s legal competence to make restructuring plans and seeking to affirm the NHRCK’s competence in such matters and requested a provisional disposition to suspend the effect of the amendments to the Presidential Decree on the reorganization of the NHRCK. In addition, Chairperson Ahn Kyong-Whan of the NHRCK attended a Cabinet Council to express and deliver the opinion of the NHRCK on its restructuring, and Standing Commissioner Moon Kyong-Ran of the NHRCK attended a Vice-Ministerial meeting to explain the NHRCK’s position on the restructuring plan.
“We have to consider our legal responsibility to follow the amended Presidential Decree pending the decision of the Constitutional Court,” said the Chairperson Ahn Kyong-Whan in a meeting with the press on April 6.
However, given that the amendments to the Presidential Decree have already taken effect, the NHRCK is requesting the Constitutional Court to issue a provisional disposition as quickly as possible.
