NHRCK Urges Apology for 'Yoon's Right to Defend Himself'—'Stalling' Over Experts Escalates as Chair Walks Out

[Financial News] The National Human Rights Commission of Korea was split down the middle over whether to revoke a recommendation concerning so-called "guarantees for former President Yoon Suk Yeol's right to defend himself." After heated exchanges began over whether to place the motion on the agenda, an unprecedented "half-paralyzed" meeting unfolded when NHRCK Chair Ahn Chang-ho unilaterally ended the session and walked out.
The NHRCK's plenary meeting on the afternoon of the 14th began under intense tension. At issue was a recommendation adopted by the commission in February last year calling for guarantees of former President Yoon Suk Yeol's right to defend himself in his impeachment trial. Six progressive-leaning commissioners pushed a motion to formally discard the decision and apologize to the public, calling it "the shameful past in which the NHRCK had been reduced to a defense agency for an insurrectionist."
The result was six in favor and five opposed. After more than two hours of heated debate, the motion was narrowly placed on the formal agenda under the leadership of the progressive-leaning commissioners, who held the numerical advantage.
But the real confrontation began then. The opposition, including conservative-leaning Chair Ahn Chang-ho, strongly objected, saying, "Trying to retroactively discard a past recommendation whose implementation has already been completed is not only legally invalid, but also an act that undermines the NHRCK's credibility by its own hand."
As the gap between the two sides failed to narrow, Commissioner Jo Suk-hyun fired back, "Why do you keep repeating this shameful past?" Chair Ahn responded by raising his voice and saying, "Why is it shameful?" The meeting room was soon filled with shouting.
Ahn eventually played the "stalling" card. He put the brakes on the process, saying he would hear opinions from outside experts recommended by both sides before holding a vote. Progressive-leaning commissioners fiercely demanded an immediate vote, saying, "This matter has already been discussed several times, so why seek outside advice now?" But at 7:09 p.m., Ahn unilaterally declared the meeting closed and left the room with the opposing commissioners.
The six progressive-leaning commissioners, left behind in the empty meeting room after the chair's departure, vented their anger. They even considered proceeding under the acting leadership of Standing Commissioner Lee Sook-jin, but ultimately had to leave after the secretariat advised against it, saying there was no precedent for such a move.

Immediately after the meeting, the progressive-leaning commissioners held an emergency background briefing and harshly criticized Ahn, saying, "With the motion highly likely to pass if put to a vote, Chair Ahn resorted to an arbitrary trick to avoid having his historical responsibility recorded." They added that rather than becoming bound up in the legal term "revocation," they would focus their efforts on "acknowledging that the decision at the time was wrong and apologizing to the public." Since Ahn has promised to process the motion by the 12th of next month at the latest, another fierce backlash is expected in the NHRCK meeting room a month from now.
[email protected] Park Ji-hyun Reporter