Rights commission chief cancels Swiss trip amid move to cut workers

SEOUL, March 20 (Yonhap) -- The head of South Korea's National Human Rights
Commission has called off his trip to Switzerland, where he was scheduled to take
part in a meeting of human rights groups, as the government Friday unveiled a
plan to cut over 21 percent of his commission's workforce.
The move comes despite repeated calls from the chairman of the human rights
commission, Ahn Kyong-whan, to boost the commission's workforce.
"The Ministry of Public Administration and Security gave notice of its plan today
to cut the number of commission workers from the current 208 to 164," an official
from the rights watchdog said, noting the plan will likely be submitted at a
Cabinet meeting for approval before the end of the month.
Ahn was originally scheduled to depart Friday for Geneva, where a week-long
annual meeting of the International Coordinating Committee of National Human
Rights Institutions will be held.
He has canceled his trip and instead called for an emergency meeting of
commissioners on Monday, the official said, asking not to be identified.
"We cannot but believe the ministry plans to go ahead with the plan regardless of
what we have been saying. The commission cannot accept the proposed reduction of
workers and is now trying to come up with countermeasures," he said.
bdk@yna.co.kr
(END)