Human Rights Commission defending President Yoon releases decision on guaranteeing defense rights (South Korea)

On the 17th, the National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRC) expressed its opinion that measures are needed to prevent human rights violations by President Yoon Seok-yeol and that the right to defense should be guaranteed during the impeachment trial.
The Human Rights Commission also expressed the view that the principle of non-custodial trials should be observed for defendants related to martial law.
The decision was released on the 10th, when the Human Rights Commission revised and passed the full committee resolution on the issue of "guaranteeing President Yoon's right to self-defense."
The decision stated that, as President Yoon had previously asserted, “After the declaration of martial law, the military was deployed to the National Assembly and the Central Election Commission, but 190 members of the National Assembly entered the National Assembly and took emergency measures.”
"They passed a resolution calling for the lifting of martial law. No firearms were used, and no members of the National Assembly or other members of the National Assembly were arrested or detained," he said.
He added, "Since the Yoon administration took office, the National Assembly has initiated impeachment proceedings against 29 high-ranking public officials based on the majority of seats held by the opposition party.
"The impeachment of 13 of them could be seen as an abuse of power," he said, adding, "President Yoon Seok-yol's declaration of emergency martial law is considered to be an act of governance that has a highly political and military character.
The document also states that, in order to prevent President Yoon from violating his human rights, the National Human Rights Commission must instruct the Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court to conduct a rigorous investigation of evidence in the impeachment trial of the president, similar to that in criminal proceedings, and take appropriate measures.
He also expressed the opinion that legal procedures must be observed. He also urged the Seoul Central District Court and the Central Regional Military Court to grant the non-custody order, which is a fundamental principle of criminal law, to defendants related to martial law, including President Yoon.
They also expressed the opinion that the principles of the trial should be taken into consideration. However, Nam Gyu-seon, a standing committee member, Won Min-kyung, and Seo Ra-mi, non-permanent committee members, said in the decision that
In response, the ministry said, "At the time the emergency martial law was declared, South Korea was not in a state of war, emergency, or equivalent national emergency that required the mobilization of the military."
"The National Assembly's right to impeach is a legitimate exercise of its power under Article 65 of the Constitution, and the merits of impeachment should be decided by the Constitutional Court," he said.
"It is a matter that needs to be addressed, and it is not appropriate for the Human Rights Commission, which is an independent national human rights institution, to decide on its appropriateness," he said.
"It is difficult to imagine that the president is a socially vulnerable person, and it is difficult to imagine that the Human Rights Commission would act to guarantee the right to defense of a president who has been appointed by many lawyers," he said. "(The pro-martial law committee members)
"It is wrong to say that the president should be guaranteed the right to self-defense after declaring martial law without criticizing the act of martial law itself, and this cannot help but be seen as unbalanced," he said.
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