Rights watchdog vows to fight forced downsizing by gov't

SEOUL, March 27 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's human rights watchdog on Friday decided to fight a government plan to arbitrarily downsize its organization, vowing to seek legal means to ensure management independence of the state-funded agency.

The Ministry of Public Administration and Security has ordered the National Human
Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) to restructure and trim its 208-strong staff
to 164. The downsizing measure is part of a government-wide effort to reduce
spending, but the rights watchdog has argued the cut is too large.
The decision-making committee of NHRCK held a meeting earlier in the day and
decided to seek various legal measures, such as filing a complaint with the
Constitutional Court, to ensure independence of its management.
"We regret the ministry's plan to revise the law to arbitrarily downsize the
commission," the NHRCK said in a statement. The ministry oversees the operations
of a range of state-funded agencies, including the NHRCK.
On Thursday, the ministry endorsed a revision of a decree to allow the government
to intervene in management of the commission. The Cabinet is expected to approve
the bill next week.
The watchdog was launched as an independent body in 2000 under then president Kim
Dae-jung's campaign to promote the protection of human rights. But the commission
has frequently been at odds with the conservative administration under President
Lee Myung-bak for siding with the liberal camp on politically sensitive issues.
"The move will bring about a vacuum in the commission's operations and we are
worried that it may lead to a retreat in the country's human rights condition,"
said the watchdog.
The commission acknowledged that the government does have a say in the management
of its budget but maintained that the proposed downsizing is unacceptable.
odissy@yna.co.kr
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