Human Rights Commission States "Hate Speech Causing Prejudice Against Sexual Minorities Must Stop" Opinion Expressed

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] The National Human Rights Commission of Korea expressed its opinion on the 31st that hate speech causing prejudice against sexual minorities should be stopped.

According to the Human Rights Commission, numerous complaints have been raised regarding discrimination against sexual minorities, including hate speech by preliminary candidates for public office and local government officials related to issues such as the 'Queer Culture Festival,' as well as the deletion and mosaic censorship of same-sex kiss scenes in films broadcasted by broadcasting companies.

Accordingly, while the Human Rights Commission dismissed complaints that were difficult to see as causing specific harm to particular individuals and thus did not fall under its investigation scope, it decided to express its opinion, judging it necessary to protect the human rights of sexual minorities.

The Human Rights Commission first addressed a preliminary candidate for public office who opposed holding the Queer Culture Festival in the city center during a TV debate, claiming that the 'right to refuse' should be respected. The commission stated, "Hate speech by politicians during election periods can spread rapidly," and judged that "measures are needed, such as including provisions on the prevention and prohibition of hate speech in party-level ethical regulations."

Regarding the act of local government officials issuing statements opposing the Queer Culture Festival twice, in 2019 and this year, the commission expressed that "although public officials have the obligation to guarantee the basic rights of citizens, issuing statements that instill negative prejudice against sexual minorities and induce citizens to harbor hatred and hostility toward them, thereby promoting or inciting discrimination, needs improvement."

Additionally, the Human Rights Commission pointed out that a terrestrial broadcasting company’s deletion and mosaic processing of same-sex kiss scenes while airing a film could instill negative perceptions and prejudices against sexual minorities. The commission expressed the opinion that "to realize visibility where sexual minorities are represented equally, it is necessary to improve broadcasting programming so as not to exclude socially vulnerable groups such as sexual minorities."

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