Human Rights Commission: "Seoul Metro, which disapproved the advertisement of late Sergeant Byeon Hee-su, infringed on freedom of expression"

Recommendation for Amendment of Advertising Management Regulations

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-ju] The National Human Rights Commission has deemed Seoul Metro's refusal to display subway station advertisements commemorating the late Corporal Byeon Hee-soo as an infringement on freedom of expression and has requested corrective measures.

On the 29th, the Human Rights Commission announced that it recommended the president of Seoul Metro revise the advertising management regulations to ensure that the freedom of expression of social minorities, including sexual minorities, is not violated.

The Military Human Rights Center applied to Seoul Metro on August 9 to display an advertisement aimed at raising social awareness and urging the court for a just ruling ahead of the verdict on Corporal Byeon’s discharge cancellation lawsuit scheduled for the 7th of this month. However, when Seoul Metro rejected the application, the center filed a complaint with the Human Rights Commission, claiming "unreasonable discrimination due to being a sexual minority."

On the other hand, Seoul Metro responded that it held an advertising review committee composed of external members, and among the eight members, five opposed the advertisement based on the checklist evaluation criteria in the advertising regulations, citing concerns such as "interference with the company’s political neutrality due to an ongoing lawsuit" and "lack of social consensus due to conflicting opinions," ultimately resulting in the advertisement being disapproved.

Regarding this, the Human Rights Commission’s Discrimination Remedy Committee judged that the trial related to the advertisement was not connected to any specific politician or political party, and that simply displaying an advertisement related to a lawsuit with administrative authorities does not necessarily undermine the company’s political neutrality. Furthermore, despite the possibility of resolving neutrality concerns by clearly stating that the advertisement does not represent the company’s opinion, Seoul Metro’s unilateral refusal to display the advertisement was deemed an excessive measure.

Additionally, the Human Rights Commission found that Seoul Metro’s checklist includes "cases where conflicting opinions prevent social consensus" as a reason to prohibit advertisements, which contradicts the purpose of introducing opinion advertisements. This could significantly restrict the opinions of social minority groups such as sexual minorities and potentially violate the fundamental democratic principle of freedom of expression.

The Human Rights Commission explained, "The refusal to approve the advertisement application constituted unfavorable treatment of the complainant based on gender identity, amounting to discriminatory conduct infringing on the right to equality and freedom of expression, and thus recommended revising the relevant regulations."

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