Human Rights Watch have been asking the important questions.
(Seoul) – Two of four major South Korean presidential candidates responded to a questionnaire on key human rights issues facing the South Korean people, Human Rights Watch said today. Human Rights Watch prepared the questionnaire to provide the candidates an opportunity to publicly express their views on human rights concerns and policies ahead of the March 9, 2022 presidential elections.
Shim Sang-jung of the Justice Party and Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party of Korea submitted responses in Korean, which are also available in English in translations by a professional translator. Ahn Cheol-soo of the People’s Party and Yoon Seok-youl of the People’s Power Party did not respond to the questionnaire, which was sent in Korean to the four major candidates on January 25.
“Presidential candidates Shim Sang-jung and Lee Jae-myung have done South Korean voters a service by sharing their views on the critically important human rights issues affecting South Korea, as well as its relations with North Korea,” said Lina Yoon, senior Korea researcher at Human Rights Watch. “Sadly, human rights issues have largely been missing from debates and discussions in the South Korean presidential campaign.”
The Human Rights Watch questionnaire contained 15 questions focused on children’s rights to education, women’s rights, the rights of older people, the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people, freedom of expression, and human rights policy toward North Korea. The deadline for responding was February 21.
Human Rights Watch contacted each campaign multiple times between January 25 and February 25 via phone, text message, and email to ensure that they had received the questionnaire and to remind them of the deadline. On February 8, the campaign teams of presidential candidates Lee Jae-myung and Shim Sang-jung told Human Rights Watch that they planned to respond. On February 17, candidate Ahn Cheol-soo’s campaign told Human Rights Watch that they would not respond due to what they said were scheduling difficulties. On February 21, candidate Lee Jae-myung’s campaign team asked for an extension to February 25 to submit their response, which they sent on February 24. Yoon Seok-youl’s team responded to repeated attempts to contact them on February 25, but gave no indication whether they would respond to the questionnaire.
“All South Korean presidential candidates should clearly state their positions on human rights issues,” Yoon said. “South Korean voters should know what their prospective future president thinks about discrimination, inequality, and freedom of expression.”
Two of of the four major South Korean presidential candidates have responded to a questionnaire from Human Rights Watch on key human rights issues facing the South Korean people.
The elections will be held on 9 March.
Shim Sang-jung of the Justice Party and Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party of Korea submitted responses to the questionnaire. Ahn Cheol-soo of the People’s Party and Yoon Seok-youl of the People’s Power Party did not respond.
“Presidential candidates Shim Sang-jung and Lee Jae-myung have done South Korean voters a service by sharing their views on the critically important human rights issues affecting South Korea, as well as its relations with North Korea...” said Lina Yoon, senior Korea researcher at Human Rights Watch. “Sadly, human rights issues have largely been missing from debates and discussions in the South Korean presidential campaign.”
The Human Rights Watch questionnaire contained 15 questions focused on children’s rights to education, women’s rights, the rights of older people, the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people, freedom of expression, and human rights policy toward North Korea.
“All South Korean presidential candidates should clearly state their positions on human rights issues...” Yoon said. “South Korean voters should know what their prospective future president thinks about discrimination, inequality, and freedom of expression.”
Both Shim Sang-jung and Lee Jae-myung responded positively to the need to provide legal recognition to same-sex relationships and to tackling discrimination against LGBTQ people.
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