Choi Young-ae, Human Rights Commissioner: "The 21st General Election, the First Year Without Hate Speech"

Statement by the National Human Rights Commission Chairperson on the 21st National Assembly Election

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Byung-don] Choi Young-ae, Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission, has appealed to politicians running in the 21st National Assembly elections to actively participate in creating an election free of hate speech.

On the 25th, Chairperson Choi stated in a press release, “The 21st National Assembly election, held on April 15, is a meaningful election as it is the first time voting rights are granted to citizens aged 18.” She added, “With the spread of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), hatred and discrimination against social minorities have become apparent. In this context, creating an election free of hate speech will be an important opportunity to improve discriminatory perceptions in our society.”

Chairperson Choi continued, “Politicians bear political responsibility through elections and are direct actors in realizing democratic values. They are also responsible for high-level policy decisions and exert considerable influence on projects promoting national interests. Therefore, they have a significant social responsibility to control, prevent, and respond to hate speech.” She added, “I hope they will actively participate so that elections, as the most important and fundamental means of exercising popular sovereignty and a forum for realizing democracy, can fulfill their original meaning.”

This statement from Chairperson Choi stems from the public’s demand for active responses to hate speech by politicians. According to a public perception survey conducted by the Human Rights Commission last year, 58.8% of respondents answered that politicians, including National Assembly members, promote hatred, and 82.3% responded that a pledge against hate speech by politicians is necessary.

In November of the same year, the Human Rights Commission also expressed the opinion that norms and voluntary response measures are needed to prevent and respond to hate speech by politicians, addressing the Speaker of the National Assembly, leaders of political parties, and the Chairperson of the Central Election Commission.

Chairperson Choi emphasized, “Hate speech by candidates during election campaigns not only infringes on the human rights of members of targeted groups but also distorts the public discourse, undermining democracy and hindering integration into an inclusive society.” She added, “It is very welcome that some political parties are strengthening their responses to hate speech by including countermeasures against hate and discrimination in their pledges and reflecting hate speech records in candidate verification.”

Furthermore, she stated, “The Human Rights Commission will also monitor and inspect to ensure that hate speech is not used during the election process,” and urged, “I sincerely hope that the 21st National Assembly election will become a forum for democracy free of hate speech.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.