Human Rights Commission Special Report to President Moon Jae-in... Moon: "Democratic Control of Police and Prosecutors, Protection of Human Rights in Investigation Process Needed"

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[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Dong-hoon] On the 23rd, the National Human Rights Commission of Korea conducted a special report to the President on human rights issues such as the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and the adjustment of investigative authority between the police and prosecutors.

President Moon Jae-in, during the report session, requested, "With the institutional changes following the adjustment of investigative authority between the police and prosecutors, democratic control over the police and prosecutors and the protection of human rights during investigations must be strengthened. I hope the Human Rights Commission will continue to respond until the issue of sports human rights reaches a certain level of normalization."

In this special report, Chairperson Choi Young-ae highlighted ▲human rights protection related to COVID-19 ▲response to hate and discrimination ▲preparation of human rights protection measures in anticipation of the adjustment of investigative authority between the police and prosecutors ▲protection and promotion of sports human rights, and reported on these matters and other major issues of the Human Rights Commission.

President Moon Jae-in listened to Chairperson Choi Young-ae’s diagnosis of the human rights situation and highly evaluated the achievements the Human Rights Commission has made in various fields. He requested that the Commission further strengthen its status and play a greater role in promoting and protecting human rights. In particular, President Moon emphasized, "Since new human rights issues are emerging and human rights concerns are expanding, there is no end to human rights, so the Human Rights Commission must actively perform its role."

President Moon Jae-in requested efforts to devise solutions from a human rights perspective, as COVID-19 and hate discrimination are global issues. He noted the need to balance quarantine measures and human rights amid the spread of COVID-19, and emphasized the importance of actively addressing issues such as employment insecurity among vulnerable groups and polarization in preparation for the post-COVID era, as well as hate and discrimination against socially disadvantaged groups arising in conjunction with fake news. In particular, President Moon stated, "Regarding the promotion of the Equality Act, although there is some opposition, I hope the National Assembly will actively discuss it and broaden social consensus and empathy."

President Moon Jae-in received a report on measures to guarantee the independence of the Human Rights Commission and, considering its special status as an independent institution, urged the examination of similar domestic and international cases to find legal improvement measures. At the same time, he requested the preparation and implementation of ways to guarantee maximum autonomy within the current framework. He also proposed introducing a Military Human Rights Officer in a concurrent position with a standing commissioner, including the status of the Commission’s recommendation implementation in government evaluations, and publishing an annual national human rights report.

Chairperson Choi Young-ae and Secretary-General Song So-yeon attended the special report, along with Chief Secretary for Political Affairs Choi Jae-sung and Legal Secretary Kim Young-sik.

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