Gwangju City Implements Institutional Improvements to Strengthen Human Rights... Amendment of the 'Human Rights Ordinance'

Gwangju City Hall

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] Gwangju Metropolitan City announced on the 9th that, according to the revised "Gwangju Metropolitan City Ordinance on the Guarantee and Promotion of Human Rights" (Human Rights Ordinance) effective from the 1st of this month, the city’s Human Rights Ombudsman will investigate various human rights violation cases such as workplace power harassment requested by autonomous districts and notify the requesting autonomous district of the Human Rights Ombudsman meeting results (decision document).

The autonomous districts will handle follow-up measures based on the results.

Additionally, the city plans to fill two vacant seats of the Human Rights Promotion Citizens’ Committee, which were vacated by members who resigned due to personal reasons, with members recommended by the autonomous districts.

This system improvement is a measure following the amendment of the Human Rights Ordinance proposed last month by City Councilor Kim Yong-jip, aimed at expanding the investigative authority of the Human Rights Ombudsman to ensure practical protection and promotion of human rights in citizens’ daily lives.

The revised Human Rights Ordinance expands the investigative authority of the Human Rights Ombudsman and opens the composition of the city’s Human Rights Promotion Citizens’ Committee to include members recommended by autonomous districts, enabling cooperation between the city and autonomous district human rights administrations.

Also, the selection of subjects for the Human Rights Impact Assessment, which has been conducted since July 1, 2017, as the first among metropolitan cities nationwide and was previously limited to the city’s Human Rights Promotion Citizens’ Committee, has been expanded by this revision to include policies selected by the mayor or city council for the promotion of human rights of vulnerable groups and citizens, allowing for a swift response to rapidly changing human rights situations.

Yoon Mok-hyun, Director of the City’s Democratic Human Rights and Peace Bureau, said, “For citizens’ human rights to be protected and promoted, the city and autonomous district administrative bodies must closely cooperate to advance human rights administration,” adding, “Remedies for human rights violations in citizens’ daily lives will become more active.”

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