Controversy Over Delay in Publishing English Version of North Korea Human Rights Report... Ministry of Unification "Efforts by April 25"

Foreign Media: "Difficult to Report Arbitrary Translations Without English Version"
"To Inform the International Community," Unification Ministry Fails to Follow Yoon's Will

The Ministry of Unification published the North Korean Human Rights Report last month, removing the condition of it being 'annual,' and it has been revealed that they did not report the plan to publish an English version to the National Assembly. President Yoon Suk-yeol emphasized the importance of publishing the English version, stating, "The horrific human rights violations of North Korean residents must be fully exposed to the international community," but criticism is emerging that the Ministry of Unification's actions regarding the utilization of the report are passive.

According to the National Assembly on the 13th, the Ministry of Unification stated in a current affairs report submitted to the Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee of the National Assembly the day before, "We have published the North Korean Human Rights Report for the first time by our government," and "We will actively promote efforts to improve North Korean human rights." Regarding plans for utilizing the report, they briefly explained, "We will actively promote the reality of North Korean human rights domestically and internationally through systematic cooperation with related organizations in the future."

Kwon Young-se, Minister of Unification

The Ministry of Unification publicly published the North Korean Human Rights Report for the first time on the 30th of last month, seven years after the enactment of the North Korean Human Rights Act. However, contrary to expectations of a 'first public release,' the report was criticized for failing to even present basic status or analysis, falling short of the level of existing reports related to North Korean human rights.

There were also continuous criticisms that the North Korean Human Rights Records Center, which has been responsible for producing the report, failed to properly utilize the human rights investigation database (DB) that it had built since 2017 with a budget of at least 3.3 billion won. Although 3,412 defectors responded to the basic survey on human rights conditions, and 2,075 defectors completed the court records in the form of question-and-answer documents containing detailed damage statements, only the testimonies of 508 people were simply listed.

Furthermore, as the publication of the English version of the North Korean Human Rights Report has been repeatedly delayed, there are criticisms that the government lacks the will to inform the international community about the reality of North Korean human rights. The Ministry of Unification held a closed-door meeting with the Seoul Foreign Correspondents' Club (SFCC) on the 10th, during which foreign correspondents reportedly raised concerns about the English version issue. An anonymous foreign correspondent said, "It is difficult to understand the introduction of the report to foreign media without an English version," adding, "If the report is arbitrarily translated, there could be problems in conveying the meaning, so active coverage is currently difficult."

Lee Young-hwan, former head of the Transitional Justice Working Group (TJWG), said, "Requests for confirmation about the publication of the English version are flooding in from foreign media and NGOs, but the Ministry of Unification has not even disclosed an expected timeline," adding, "An English version is essential to inform the international community about the reality of North Korean human rights, but it is hard to understand why the publication date has not yet been finalized and the process is stagnant. The Ministry of Unification is not keeping up with the president's will."

A Ministry of Unification official said, "We are making efforts in various ways to translate the English version," and "We are preparing to publish it by the 25th of this month."

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