The NHRC Recommended the Korean National Police Agency and the National Intelligence Service to Provide Personal References Without Discrimination
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has prescribed that a principal who refused to hire a new teacher since that teacher had a previous conviction which had already been pardoned, has committed a discriminatory act. Moreover, the NHRC recommended the National Police Agency (NPA) and the National Intelligence Service that, when providing personal references in compliance with the so-called Security Operational Rule, not to notify the general public about an individual"s criminal background regardless of the kinds of crimes; the NHRC also urged the principal, as the chief director of the board of directors, to nominate the teacher again.
The complainant, Lee, had filed a complaint against the principal of Kyung-Nam Art High School (the Art School) of the Sook-Jin Academic Foundation claiming that the principal had rejected his application because he has had a previous conviction and that such an act violates the rights to equality; Lee also claimed that for organs of the State to notify an employer about an ex-conviction can also be a violation of human rights. The NHRC concluded that the principal had violated the right to pursue happiness (Article 10 of the Constitution of Korea).
According to the result of investigation by the NHRC, the Art School had entrusted the selection of a Korean language [literature??] teacher to Kyung-Sang-Namdo Office of Education (Education Office) in October 2001. The complainant, Lee, was only selected in the written examination by the Education Office and the Sook-Jin Academic Foundation had announced the decision publicly. However, the National Police Agency (NPA) informed the Art School that Lee had been pardoned and exonerated after he had been sentenced for violating the National Security Act. As a result, on 21 February 2002, the principal notified Lee that the Art School would not hire him.
The respondent, the principal of the Art School, claimed that the personal reference which the NPA had provide is just for consultation; the Art School had selected teachers by examining their character and ability through interviews. Therefore, the complainant was rejected not because of his criminal record, but rather because he was not qualified.
The NHRC judged that the behavior of the principle and the relevant state agencies is against paragraph 2 of Article 30 under the National Human Rights Commission Act, which provides that a "discriminatory act of violating the rights of equality means any of the acts of unreasonable discrimination on the ground of criminal record of which effective term of the punishment has expired."
