The National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) is pleased to welcome three new Commissioners. Nam-Young Yoo (47, male), former Vice-Chairman of Lawyers for a Democratic Society, was appointed as Standing Commissioner on December 24, 2007.
Appointment as a Standing Commissioner of the Commission is a deputy minister-level officer appointment by recommendation of the President of the Republic of Korea. Yoo graduated from the law department of Seoul National University, passed the 24th national judicial examination, and finished his 14th-term course at the Judicial Research and Training Institute. Yoo also obtained a masters and doctoral degree at the University of Washington (UW) School Of Law. Among his major career positions, Yoo was treasurer of the Korean Bar Association (2003-2005); member of the education informatization committee under the Prime Minister (2003); member of the National Police Agency’s Historical Review Committee (2004-2005); arbitrator at the Korean Commercial Arbitration Board (2005-2007); and provisional director of the Duksung Educational Foundation (2007).
Guk Cho (42, male), a law professor at Seoul National University, and Deok-Nam Hwang (50,female), a lawyer, were appointed non-standing commissioners of the NHRCK on December 24. Cho and Hwang were recommended by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Hwang graduated from the law department of Seoul National University, passed the 23rd national judicial examination, and earned a masters degree from the Graduate School of Public Health at Yonsei University. Hwang was also a judge for various courts, including the Seoul District Court (1983-1998); member of the Administrative Adjudication Committee in the Office of the Prime Minister (1999-2003); member of the Gender Discrimination Rectification Committee (2001-2003); member of the Law Interpretation and Deliberation Committee in the Ministry of Government Legislation (2005-present); public member in charge of judgments at the National Labor Relations Commission (2007-present); and lawyer in the Sekye Legal Corporation (2003-present).
Cho obtained a bachelors and masters degree in law at Seoul National University and a masters and doctoral degree from the University of California, Berkeley. He served as director of the judicial monitoring center at the People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy (2002-2005); was a member of the police innovation committee at the National Police Agency (2004-2005); a member of the investigative practices improvement committee for respect for human rights at the Supreme Public Prosecutor's Office (2004-2005); an associate professor at the law department of Seoul National University (2004-present); and served as deputy director of the Office of External Affairs at Seoul National University (2007-present).
We wish the Commissioners well with their new appointments, and look forward to seeing their influence in our future work.
The National Human Rights Commission of Korea was established in 2001, offering investigation and remedy services for Korean citizens and foreigners residing in Korea against human rights violations and discrimination. The Commission provides policy recommendations and remedial action against human rights infringements, collaborates with international human rights organizations and implements educational programs to improve the human rights culture.
