NHRCK Welcomes Seoul Administrative Court's Decision to Reverse Departure Order Against HIV-Infected Foreigner
The National Human Rights Commission of Korea (Chairperson Kyong-Whan Ahn) hails the April 16, 2008 decision by the Seoul Administrative Court to reverse a departure order against an HIV-infected foreigner. Hopefully, this decision will spur momentum to redress the bias against HIV/AIDS carriers and guarantee protection of the human rights of HIV-positive people in Korean society.
A 34-year-old Korean-Chinese man known only as Heo underwent a medical checkup on March 21, 2007 while staying in the Republic of Korea at the invitation of his Korean mother and was diagnosed HIV-positive on May 3, 2007. The Seoul Immigration Service received a notice to that effect from the agency concerned and issued a departure order against Heo on May 4, 2007. Heo instituted a legal action to have the order reversed.
The NHRCK determined that said action had relevance to discrimination against HIV-infected persons as well violations of the human rights of aliens in the country. It found that a decision on the action would "have a far-reaching impact on the protection of human rights." The NHRCK submitted its opinion to the Seoul Administrative Court to the effect that the departure order by the Seoul Immigration Service was highly likely to infringe upon foreigners' rights to reside in the country as legal aliens and their rights to equality, specifically non-discrimination on grounds of medical history.
Based on fact-finding investigations into the human rights of HIV-positive people and AIDS patients, the NHRCK found that prejudice against and misunderstanding of HIV/AIDS were prevalent in Korean society, with HIV-infected persons suffering serious discrimination and human rights abuses despite the fact that people cannot be infected with HIV through ordinary contact. Against this backdrop, the NHRCK expressed its opinion and recommended a policy in connection with an act on HIV-infected people so as to eliminate discrimination and human rights violations against HIV-infected persons as well as AIDS patients.
The NHRCK expects that the latest decision by the Seoul Administrative Court will put an end to deep-rooted bias against and stigma associated with HIV-infected persons in Korean society and provide crucial momentum toward addressing discrimination based on medical conditions.
