NHRCK’s standing member lashes out at media and human rights civic groups with disparaging remarks

Kim Yong-won, a military human rights protector at the National Human Rights Commission, reads a statement regarding the investigation into the case of the late Corporal Chae-mo at the Human Rights Education Center of the National Human Rights Commission in Jung-gu, Seoul, on Aug. 9, last year. Yonhap News Agency

Kim Yong-won, a standing member of the National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK), lashed out at media critical of him on June 13, calling them "giregi" (a slang term combining the words "journalists" and "trash") and human rights civic groups "human rights businesses." Kim made the remark while demanding that the meeting of the NHRCK’s standing committee be held behind closed doors, according to multiple NHRCK officials. For a standing committee member, who is guaranteed independent activities at the NHRCK, which aims to "realize human dignity and values and contribute to the establishment of a democratic basic order," critics said it showed his narrow view of the media and insufficient human rights awareness.

According to a report by Kyunghyang Shinmun, Kim insisted on keeping the meeting private immediately after the standing committee members gathered and said, "Giregi come in and watch and write trash articles. Is there any reason to allow them to watch the meeting in this situation?"

He specifically mentioned the name of the media companies, saying, "It is comforting that no matter how much Hankyoreh and Kyunghyang try, other media will not accept it."

Kim also criticized human rights organizations, saying that "human rights businesses attend the meetings, distort the content of meetings, and recklessly demand the resignation of human rights commissioners." Kim's request to close the meeting was put to a vote and rejected.

There was also a war of words over Kim's remarks at the meeting, which was converted to be public. Park Jin, secretary-general of the NHRCK, said, "Is it okay to call the people who are listening to the meeting “giregi” or “human rights businesses?” Kim responded, "The Supreme Court also ruled that the word “giregi” is not an offensive expression."

Media and civil society organizations criticized Kim's remarks as inappropriate. "I've been monitoring the NHRCK for a long time, but this is the first time I've seen something like this," said Myeong-sook, an activist at the Activists group for Human Rights BARAM. "It is an act that has no understanding that public institutions should have high transparency and that he should perform his duty as a human rights commissioner." Lee Joon-hyung, a member of the media union, said, "The NHRCK’s meeting is not a live broadcast, but a limited number of observations, which is why it is less publicized. If this verbal abuse continues, it is questionable whether it will be a meeting that meets the public sentiment." Lee Joon-hyung, an expert member of the media union, said, "The Human Rights Commission's meetings are not broadcast live, but are only open to limited observers, which makes them less publicized." He added, "If this kind of verbal abuse continues, it is questionable whether it will be a meeting that meets the public sentiment."

Criticism has also been raised within the commission. An official at the NHRCK, who asked not to be named, said, "It is the responsibility of reporters and human rights groups to deal with the content of a meeting they monitored, and it is inappropriate to raise the issue by using disparaging expressions." Another commission official who attended the meeting also said, "His remarks were very inappropriate and controversial."

Kyunghyang Shinmun reached out to Kim by phone and text to ask for clarification and background on his remarks, but he did not respond.

※This article has undergone review by a professional translator after being translated by an AI translation tool.