The NHRC recommended mayors of Incheon City, Bupyung-gu, and Namdong-gu to cancel a unfair personnel appointment and relocate a complainant to the original place
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) recommended the mayor of Incheon City, mayors of the Bupyung-gu, and the Namdong-gu a compromise to relocate a petitioner, Park back to his original office in the Bupyung-gu.
Park who had been working at the Bupyung gu Office, was transferred to Namdong-gu office on 3 September 2001. In the same year, on 12 December 2001, Park filed a complaint at the NHRC for "unfair transfer order and abuse of power" against three respondents as follows: the mayor of Incheon, the mayoars of Bupyung-gu, and Namdong-gu. On 27 November 2002, the NHRC recommended the respondents to transfer the petitioner back to the Bupyung-gu Office and further recommended that, once the transfer happen, all parties-including Mr. Park- mutually agree not to raise the issue anymore. On 14 February 2003, all parties expressed that they will accept the recommendation and signed the agreement.
Prior to making the recommendation, the NHRC had investigated and found that Park had received a special award- the so-called "24th annual award for clean-handed public servants " - which entitles award recipients to special privileges, such as promotion and the freedom for recipients to be transferred to any department in any "gu" district. However, the respondents had ignored such privileges and had given a transfer order without notifying Park. Also, the respondents had decided to transfer Park because he had raised problems while working at the Bupyung-gu Office. The NHRC concluded that the respondents had abused their authority, regarding this point.
The respondents insisted that the transfer order was in accordance with the Local Public Officials Act (Article 30 paragraph 2) and the Local Government Enforcement Decree (Article 9) and they had not gotten Park"s consent for the transfer since they had the authority by the above mentioned legal instruments to make such a decision. Also, they insisted that the special privileges to which award recipients are entitled are "just a privilege, not a right" when it comes decisions regarding personnel.
The NHRC decided that the respondents had discriminated against Park when they had ordered his transfer in three ways as follows: first, they had ignored regulations and protocols on transfer; second, they had violated judicial precedent (The Supreme Court decision on 11 December 2001 provided that when there is a transfer between two different jurisdictions, the person who is being transferred must give consent); third, they had ignored the directions of the Ministry of Government Affairs and Home Affairs, which had ordered that award recipients like Park be given priority in promotions. The mayor of Bupyung-gu on February 26, 2001 had promoted 3 colleagues of Park and excluded him.
The NHRC concluded that the respondents had violated the Article 10 (the right to pursue happiness) and the Article 19 (freedom of conscience) of the Constitution of Korea, by depriving the complainant"s self-decisive right.
