Human Rights Commission reverses defense rights recommendation and apologizes

The National Human Rights Commission of Korea decided at its 17th plenary meeting, held Monday at its office in Jung District, Seoul, to express regret over its earlier decision recommending the protection of former President Yoon Suk Yeol's defense rights during his impeachment and to issue a public apology. The reversal came one year and eight months after the original decision.

The decision in question, made at the plenary meeting on February 10, 2025, had sparked controversy both inside and outside the commission. It passed with six votes in favor and four against. Standing commissioners Lee Suk-jin and Oh Young-geun and non-standing commissioners Sora Mi, Oh Wan-ho, Cho Sook-hyun, and Kim Min-moon-jung voted in favor, while standing commissioner Kim Hak-ja and non-standing commissioners Kang Jung-hye, Han Seok-hoon, and Kim Yong-jik voted against. Chairperson Ahn Chang-ho abstained from the vote.

Although the agenda item originally included the 'rescission of the decision,' the rescission portion was dropped during deliberations, and only the expression of regret over the past decision and the apology in the institution's name were approved. The revised decision contained a reflection that the original decision turned its back on the human rights of ordinary citizens harmed by the martial law declaration while shielding only the defense rights of former President Yoon and others, along with an apology to the public.

Lee Suk-jin, the standing commissioner who initiated the apology motion, explained that the item was not intended to erase or retroactively annul the past decision, but to acknowledge that it failed to align with the external responsibilities of a national human rights body. The commission had faced conflicting criticism—one side accusing it of defending former President Yoon and the martial law declaration, the other countering that it had merely recommended due process protections.