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"What is the citizenship of the North Korean people?" asked an opposition party lawmaker.
"According to our constitution, they are citizens of the Republic of the Korea," replied the head of the National Human Rights Commission.
"Then why is there not a single line in your report about the human rights situation in North Korea, or measures to alleviate them, if the report was designed to protect the human rights of our people?"
"…, I will take that into account."
"Do you think the South or the North has the more serious human rights problems?"
"I don't know, because I have no reliable data about that."
"International human rights organizations like Amnesty International and Asia Watch have been reporting on the extensive human rights abuses in the North since the 1980s. Are you saying you know nothing about this?"
"Only in a fragmentary way."
The preceding is an excerpt from the question and answer session held Monday between the head of the Human Rights Commission, Kim Chang-kook, and lawmakers of the Justice Committee of the National Assembly. Kim eluded questions about North Korea, failing to give a clear reply about whose human rights situation he thought was worse, the South's or the North's. He said he was unaware about the human rights situation in North Korea, so he could not give on-the-spot answers. He replied a few times that he, as one person, had no idea how to deal with North Korea's human rights issues.
The commission has been vocal in opposing the president's decision to send noncombat troops to Iraq. After a heated discussion among the cabinet, lasting several days, the president finally said the troops should be sent. Still, the commission remained opposed. It has also said it would concentrate on 10 major human rights tasks, including the revision or scrapping of the national security law.
But so far, the commission has failed to make any reports or hold any discussions about human rights issues in North Korea.
(Bang Seong-su, ssbang@chosun.com )
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