When human rights become a shield for power [Window to the World]

A recent call from a 'peace organization' left someone feeling quite flustered. Minghui Kim, a monk, requested that their voices be raised for human rights. They were not questioning guilt or innocence, but only the proportionality of the investigation. This organization, 'Heaven Culture World Peace Restoration' (HWPL), was Kim's own international organization based in Germany.

Germany had been the scene of aggressive targeting of its members for a few years, with many young adults and students being the most affected. However, the organization's abuses and manipulations must be clearly distinguished from the basic rights of the accused. Human rights apply to everyone, regardless of the seriousness of accusations, political stance, or social ostracism.

The foundation of a democratic constitutional state is the fair and proportional treatment of individuals. The scale of proportionality weighs both ways. The more powerful an individual with vast organizations and resources, the greater the risk of covering up evidence or reaching out to witnesses. Strict restraint and limitations on interrogations are justified reasons.

In situations where major crimes are involved, the unwavering investigation is particularly crucial. Age is not a differentiating factor; ensuring basic medical care in detention facilities cannot be a loophole to the legal safety net. The court's mention of 'concern for witness intimidation' at this point is significant. Essentially, the issue of respecting his rights and dismissing him are entirely different matters.

While his organization's use of human rights to dismiss him may seem justifiable on a superficial level, it lacks substance both in terms of legal and common sense. Reflecting on this peculiar contact, the reporter recalled the Korean National Human Rights Commission's similar reversal. Just a year after Chairman An Chang Ho's appointment by President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was reluctant to grant his 'defense rights,' the activist group vehemently demanded the procedural rights of those in power.

This was despite not uttering a word about the 12·3 coup. The mechanisms that protect citizens from power seem to be deployed to safeguard the procedural rights of those in power. The threshold for removing the current National Human Rights Commission chairperson is intentionally high, reflecting the desire to preserve the commission's independence from political influence.

However, this shield has now turned the commission into an extension of the individual in question. In 2003, the year a deceased scholar, Song Doo-ryul, was imprisoned and forced to read the newspaper, the story of a commission protecting individuals over the nation was a poignant reminder. The essence remains the same: human rights are the shield raised by the weak in the face of the strong, but when it becomes the person's own protection, rather than a shield for all, democracy crumbles from within. This is now the most subtle and dangerous method.