The following is based on a communication written by the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders and other UN experts to the Government of the Republic of Korea on 26 June 2024. The communication remained confidential for 60 days before being made public, giving the Government time to reply. The Government replied on 23 August 2024, in which they asserted that the investigation into Mr. Lim Tae-hoon, the CMHRK, and bereaved family members was ongoing, and that it was carried out in compliance with domestic and international laws.
Since the sending of the communication, the Special Rapporteur also received information that the NHRCK commissioner who requested the investigation into the CMHRK had been removed from the deliberation process of the complaint by the CMHRK on behalf of the bereaved family.
This is a shorter version of the original communication.
BACKGROUND
Topic: the lawsuit and ongoing criminal investigation against human rights defenders and bereaved family members associated with the Center for Military Human Rights Korea, including its director Mr. Lim Tae-hoon, in relation to their peaceful and legitimate human rights advocacy.
The Center for Military Human Rights Korea (CMHRK) is a non-governmental organisation which monitors the human rights situation in the armed forces and works to protect and promote the human rights of military personnel in the Republic of Korea, through programmes such as suicide prevention, anti-discrimination campaigns, counselling for victims of sexual violence in the military and support to bereaved family members of individuals who have died in military service. The CMHRK also works to ensure that the military’s activities are carried out in compliance with international humanitarian law and international human rights law, offering training to military personnel on such topics. Mr. Lim Tae-hoon is a human rights defender and director of the CMHRK.
The National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) is the Republic of Korea’s accredited National Human Rights Institution (NHRI). The NHRCK is comprised of 11 commissioners, of which four are elected by the National Assembly, four are nominated by the President of the Republic of Korea, and four are nominated by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court before being approved by the President. In its October 2021 session, the Sub-Committee on Accreditation (SCA) of the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions recommended that the NHRCK be re-accredited as an A-status NHRI. However, the SCA also noted that there was no formalised selection process used by the three nominating institutions and encouraged the NHRCK to advocate for the establishment of a single independent selection committee to ensure the independence of and public confidence in the senior leadership of the NHRCK.[1] We note that the Government of the Republic of Korea has not yet amended the NHRCK’s Act specifying such a consistent and independent selection process as per the Sub-Committee’s recommendations.
ALLEGATIONS
On 14 August 2023, the CMHRK filed a petition to the NHRCK to take urgent action to request the suspension of an investigation for insubordination and disciplinary action against a senior official of the Marine Corps’ Military Police. The official had been in charge of a high-profile investigation into the death of a young marine during a search and rescue operation in Yecheon city in July 2023. They were relieved of their duties and charged with insubordination after they transferred the investigation material to the civilian police, despite the fact that this was standard procedure given the possible criminal allegations of negligence in relation to the young marine’s death.
A special standing committee of the NHRCK was scheduled to take place on 18 August 2023 to discuss this urgent action. One of the Standing Commissioners and Military Human Rights Protection Officer of the NHRCK allegedly did not attend this meeting due to illness. Following this, Mr. Lim Tae-hoon spoke to journalists and suggested that the Military Human Rights Protection Officer deliberately did not attend the meeting and was being subjected to pressure from the Ministry of Defence not to properly investigate this case.
On 29 August 2023, the NHRCK’s Sub-Committee for Military Human Rights Protection rejected the CMHRK’s petition on the basis that the matter was not of urgency, nor did it require the immediate protection of victims. On 31 August 2023, the Officer of the NHRCK allegedly attempted to organise a mediation meeting between the official under investigation and the Ministry of Defence, but this meeting did not take place.
On 4 September 2023, the Officer of the NHRCK filed a civil lawsuit against Mr. Lim and the CMHRK for alleged slander and spreading false information about him in relation to the statements made to the media following the special standing committee on 18 August 2023. The lawsuit demanded a payment of KRW 50,000,000 (approximately USD 36,400), as well as the payment of legal fees. This case is still ongoing, and the trial is scheduled to take place on 11 July 2024.
On 5 September 2023, following the rejection of the CMRHK’s petition of 14 August 2023, eight bereaved family members of deceased soldiers held a press conference outside the NHRCK’s building and subsequently entered the building and made their way to the NHRCK’s office to demand the resignation of three commissioners, including the Officer of the NHRCK. Nobody came to meet them and, after waiting in the lobby for an hour and a half, they left the building.
On 11 September 2023, another group of family members of deceased soldiers attended the NHRCK’s 13th Plenary Meeting. They brought hand-held pickets calling for the resignation of the same three commissioners. They were demanded to leave the room after five minutes.
Ms. An Mija was one of the bereaved family members who attended the press conference on 5 September 2023. Ms. An is the mother of the deceased soldier who died in 2014 after being beaten and mistreated by senior soldiers. With the assistance of the CMHRK, Ms. An and her family submitted the case to the Military Human Rights Protection Office of the NHRCK, as none of the commanding officers responsible for her son’s death were investigated or brought to trial. Furthermore, her family’s petition to the Presidential Truth Commission on Death in the Military to establish State responsibility was rejected on 6 February 2023, following six years of delayed investigation.
On 10 October 2023, the Officer of the NHRCK dismissed Ms. An’s submission. Following this dismissal, bereaved family members of deceased soldiers and human rights defenders of the CMHRK held another press conference outside the NHRCK building on 18 October 2023, in order to denounce the dismissal of this case. Those attending this press conference and demonstration included human rights defenders of the CMHRK: Mr. Lim, Mr. Kim Hyungnam, Mr. Cho Kyusuk and Ms. Yun Sunjoo; as well as Ms. An, and the parents of other deceased members of the armed forces: Ms. Park Soonjung, Mr. Lee Juwan, Ms. Park Misug, Mr. Kim Gichel, Mr. Hwang Ohik, Ms. Cho Eunkyoung, Ms. Lee Siloam, Ms. Sim Inoak and two others.
Following the press conference, they entered the NHRCK building and waited outside the Chairperson’s office, chanting slogans for the gates to be opened and for the Chairperson to meet with them. After waiting in the hallway for approximately an hour, alongside a small number of police officers from the Seoul Jungbu Police Station, the Chairperson and Secretary-General of the NHRCK met with the gathered family members and human rights defenders. The meeting last for approximately an hour, after which time the gathered family members and human rights defenders left.
On 3 November 2023, the Officer of the NHRCK submitted a request for investigation before the Seoul Metropolitan Police in relation to the peaceful demonstration which took place on 18 October.
On 3 January 2024, Mr. Lim and one member of a bereaved family were summoned to the Seoul Jungbu Police Station. Another summons was received on 25 January 2024 and on 20 February 2024, all but two of the family members and human rights defenders who attended the peaceful demonstration on 18 October 2023 received summons to the Jungbu Police Station. Mr. Lim’s interrogation took place on 6 March 2024. On 18 April 2024, the Jungbu Police Station sent the case to the Seoul Central District Prosecutor’s Office.
The charges referred to the Prosecutor’s Office were in relation to intrusion as a violation of the Punishment of Violences, Etc. Act. The other charges which the police investigated included intimidation, obstruction of the performance of official duties and false arrest by Mr. Lim. None of these charges were referred to the Prosecutor’s Office on the grounds of a lack of evidence.
CONCERNS
In the communication, we express our serious concern at the lawsuit and ongoing investigation against members of the Center for Military Human Rights Korea, as well as bereaved family members of deceased soldiers, for exercising their rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, as guaranteed under articles 19 and 21 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. We are further concerned that the targeting of the CMHRK, Mr. Lim and the relatives of deceased members of the armed forces appear to be related to their peaceful and legitimate activities advocating for transparency in matters related to human rights in the armed forces. We also recall the Principles Relating to the Status of National Human Rights Institutions, also known as the Paris Principles, adopted by General Assembly resolution 48/134, which underline the pillars of pluralism, independence and effectiveness necessary for NHRIs to be able to fulfil their mandates to protect and promote human rights domestically.
[1] https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/2021-12/SCA-Report-October-2021_E.pdf, pp. 9-10.
