As of June 30, 2006, the number of complaints to NHRCK exceeded 20,000 cases in connection with human rights violations and discrimination. The 20,000th complaint was raised by Mr. Jung (Male, 48 years old) alleging that he heard insults and violent words from persons working in the prosecutor’s office when he visited 00 district prosecutor’s office to file an application for civil appeal.
The National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) has received and handled more than 20, 000 cases within 4 years and 7 months since its launch on November 25, 2001. It seemed that this resulted from the eruption in human rights violations and discrimination latent in all sectors of Korean society, together with the launch of NHRCK, and from the fact that citizens looked to NHRCK as their last bastion for appeal to seek redress for their own unfair circumstances.
The number of complaints received by NHRCK has rapidly increased year after year, with 803 cases received in 2001, 2,790 cases in 2002, 3,815 cases in 2003, 5,368 cases in 2004, and 5,617 cases in 2005 and 1,608 cases in the six months from January through June, 2006. In addition, these figures revealed an accelerated rate of increase of persons who look to the NHRCK for complaints and civil appeals as 10,000th complaint was received on May 28, 2004.
About 80% of the complaint cases received by NHRCK concerned “human rights violations by governmental institutions.” If the cases are classified, complaints on “human rights violations by governmental institutions” constituted 80%, or 15,983 cases, while those on “discrimination” comprised 11.6%, or 2,330 cases, while those on “improvement of laws, regulations and systems” comprised 8.4%, or 1,668 cases. Out of complaints on human rights violations by governmental institutions, complaints on human rights violations at the detention facilities were the most frequent, constituting 45% as 7,187 cases, those on human rights violations by the police constituted 21.5% as 3,493 cases, and those on human rights violations by other governmental institutions 16.7%, with 2,673 cases.
There are still an overwhelming number of complaints on “human rights violations by governmental institutions,” but they are showing a downward tendency with the lapse of time. Meanwhile, complaints in connection with discrimination continue to increase steadily, with 53 such complaints received in 2001, 135 cases in 2002, 358 cases in 2003, 389 cases in 2004 and 1,081 cases in 2005. The number of complaints on discrimination due to social status is the most frequent, comprising 25% of the total as 582 cases, those on account of disabilities comprising 11.3% as 11.3% with 263 cases, and those because of sex comprising 6.2% with 145 cases. It reveals that especially the class, sex, age of the petitioners is diverse and even elementary school students filed complaints to NHRCK.
It is interpreted that Korean society is going to establish the concept and standard of discrimination bit by bit through admitting recommendations of NHRCK and there is increasing sensitivity to discrimination and human rights as a whole.
NHRCK is willing to focus its attention on the problems of poverty, polarization of society, human rights of the alienated sections of society, such as those living in protective facilities. It will continue to perform case investigations, surveys on the actual conditions and recommendations on policy improvements, in order to meet the expectations of the people for the roles of NHRCK in connection with economic, social, and cultural rights.
