The candidate recommendation committee for human rights commissioners of the National Human Rights Commission (the recommendation committee) said on the 20th that it recommended to the president the following candidates to replace Standing Commissioner Kim Yong-won: ▲ attorney Kim Won-gyu (director of the Immigration Society Bureau of Gyeonggi Province) ▲ Oh Young-geun, emeritus professor at Hanyang University School of Law ▲ Lee Sung-hoon, adjunct professor at the Graduate School of Civil Peace Studies at Sungkonghoe University and the Graduate School of Asian Non-Government Studies (MAINS) ▲ Lim Tae-hoon, head of the Center for Military Human Rights.
The recommendation committee said it publicly recruited candidates from the 2nd to the 13th, then recommended four people after document and interview reviews.
According to the recommendation committee, candidate Kim Won-gyu worked for a long time at the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), served as a Korean National Police Agency Human Rights Commissioner and a Commissioner on the Seoul Metropolitan Government Citizens' Human Rights Violation Relief Committee, and was evaluated as the optimal candidate for stabilizing the organization.
Candidate Oh Young-geun, a criminal law scholar who led the founding of the Victimology Association and developed legal interpretation theories suited to Korea's reality while taking an interest in human rights, was deemed the right person to set the National Human Rights Commission on the right course.
Candidate Lee Sung-hoon was cited as an expert who has broadly served as a bridge to advance human rights by applying international human rights standards domestically and has considered effective measures to secure the independence and expertise of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).
Candidate Lim Tae-hoon has long worked to improve human rights across Korean society and military human rights, and was expected to demonstrate strengths in communication within the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and with civil society thanks to strong sensitivity to human rights.
Following the recommendation committee's shortlist, President Lee Jae-myung will designate one of the four as the final nominee and appoint that person.
The recommendation committee consists of seven members: three designated by the president, three recommended by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), and one recommended by the Korean Bar Association. Hwang Pil-kyu, an attorney at the GongGam Human Rights Law Foundation, serves as Chairperson.