"62 Out of 860 Seoul Municipal Ordinances Require Improvement for Human Rights Violations"

Human Rights Impact Assessment in Seoul
Recommendations for Revising Discriminatory Terms
From "Unmarried" to "Not Married,"
From "Low Birthrate" to "Low Births"

[Asia Economy, reporter Cho Inkyung] Out of 860 municipal ordinances in Seoul, 62 ordinances containing 96 provisions were found to have elements that could infringe on human rights, and thus require revision or supplementation.

The Seoul Human Rights Commission, chaired by Professor Han Sanghee of Konkuk University Law School, announced on April 10 that it had identified these human rights-infringing provisions during a committee meeting on April 2 and recommended that the Mayor of Seoul revise them.

The Commission conducted a human rights impact assessment across three areas and nine categories, including 'discrimination and human rights violations,' 'guarantee of fundamental rights and remedies,' and 'guarantee of citizen participation,' after review and consultation by an advisory panel of human rights experts.

A human rights impact assessment is a procedure for identifying and evaluating actual or potential human rights risks that may result from an institution's activities. Through the assessment process, it identifies and measures the impact on stakeholders' human rights, and, if negative impacts are anticipated, suggests ways to prevent or address them.

In this comprehensive review of Seoul's municipal ordinances, revisions were recommended for 55 discriminatory provisions, including those that use 'discriminatory language' or are based on 'prejudice or bias.'

For example, the term 'mihon' (unmarried) reflects a social bias that views being unmarried as an incomplete state. It was suggested that the term be changed to 'bihon' (not married), which more clearly indicates the status of not having married. Additionally, the term 'low birthrate' could be misinterpreted as placing the responsibility for population decline on women, so it should be replaced with 'low births,' which simply means fewer babies are being born. Similarly, 'stroller' should be changed to 'infant carriage,' and 'disability grade' should be revised to 'degree of disability.'

It was also pointed out that 40 discriminatory provisions related to the guarantee of fundamental rights and remedies-such as cultural rights, right of return, right to remedy, and right to privacy-need revision.

Recommendations were also made to improve restrictions resulting from provisions on admission or use of various facilities, to specify exemptions of admission (usage) fees for one guardian accompanying a person with a disability, and to address discriminatory elements arising from inadequate procedures for filing objections to administrative fines, which restrict the right to remedy.

Furthermore, in provisions related to citizen participation in public office and the appointment or dismissal of committee members, it was recommended that any language suggesting that 'disability' prevents the performance of duties be deleted, as it could foster negative perceptions.

Han Sanghee, Chairperson of the Seoul Human Rights Commission, stated, "By conducting a human rights impact assessment of Seoul's municipal ordinances, we hope to prevent or improve negative factors affecting citizens' human rights in advance, and to take another step toward making Seoul a more human rights-friendly, sensitive, and inclusive city where everyone can enjoy, embrace, and participate together."

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