South Korean politics of the 1950s was tightly controlled by an old man of 73 years, Syngman Rhee. His ambition for personal power knew no bounds and his refusal of letting democratic processes take their normal course was at the heart of the social and political unrest that followed the war.

One of the key weapons used by Rhee to counterattack his opponents was the National Security Law (NSL). Passed in 1948, the NSL which still exists to this day, was so vague and broadly defined that it could be easily used as a political tool to suppress virtually any kind of opposition. Armed with the law, Rhee embarked on a massive campaign of anti-communist witch hunts that affected tens of thousands of people, of whom the majority had no connection whatsoever with the left. All major organizations, the military, the press, and educational institutions, were subjected to close scrutiny and purge. In the spring of 1950, south Korean prisons held 60,000 people, of which 50 or 60% were charged with violations under the NSL. The NSL was also invoked to dragoon the National Assembly into compliance with Rhee's will. In October 1949, 16 assemblymen were jailed under national security violations. Not surprisingly, these 16 men were those who had called for arrests and trials of Japanese collaborators and the resignation of the whole cabinet, an action that struck at the heart of Rhee's rightist support.

By 1960, resistance to Rhee's regime reached a climax. Anger had gradually been building throughout the country after the flagrant election-rigging of the victory of the pro-Rhee candidate. On April 19, 1960, student protests broke out in the major cities and were soon joined by intellectuals and people from all walks of life. Rhee left for exile in Hawaii and the First Republic was over.

The Park Chung Hee Dictatorship (1961 - 1979)

The April 19 Student Revolution had provided south Korea with an excellent opportunity to follow the path of democracy. However, before the democratic processes could be implemented, the Second Republic was overthrown by the military, under the leadership of Park Chung Hee. The country was placed under martial law, and a special military tribunal was appointed to purge the military, government, and society of people Park considered undesirable. Thousands of arrests occurred and many were paraded through the streets in public humiliation. The National Assembly was dissolved and political activity forbidden. The press was strictly controlled by the military dictatorship. The KCIA later to become the symbol of systematic oppression against the people, was formed in 1961.

In the 1970s, the Park regime took on a more severe form of authoritarianism. Citing domestic and international insecurity, Park abruptly declared a state of emergency in December 1971. Ten months later, martial law was proclaimed. The Constitution was suspended, and the National Assembly and all political parties dissolved. Further political activity was forbidden, and restrictions were placed on other civil liberties, including free speech. A series of "revitalizing" reforms (yusin) was announced and the new Yusin Constitution imposed in November 1972, transformed the presidency into a legal dictatorship.

The price for such measures increased disaffection and alienated many segments of the Korean population. Students were once again in the forefront in the anti-government protests by now, the opposition had expanded to include new groups of people, especially a new force of regional and class dissent arising from the skewed character of Park's economic development. Unequal economic development had fueled regionalism, favoring the capital area and southeast, the home base for many of the ruling elite, including Park himself. The economic development had also been based on a large extent on low wages, and the suppression of organized labor through the use of physical force and an elaborate and oppressive legal structure. On November 13, 1970, a young garment worker named Chon Tae-il immolated himself in a public protest against labor exploitation, a heroic act that became part of south Korea's labor history and signified the beginning of a new workers' activism. The strike by female textile workers of the YH Trading Company in 1979 also gained much public attention and support after police brutally broke up the strike.

Park had ruthlessly retaliated against anti-government protests by supplementing the National Security Law with the Anti-Communist Law as early as 1961, and later, by a subsequent series of security legislation enacted as presidential emergency decrees under the Yusin Constitution. The most infamous was the Emergency Measure No. 9, announced in May 1975, which banned any criticism of the president. Arbitrary arrests, prolonged detentions, forced confessions under torture, and sham trials were followed by long periods of detention or execution for anyone who dared to take an opposing stand.

The Fifth Republic of Chun Doo Hwan (1981 - 1988)

The assassination of Park Chung Hee in October 1979 did not bring an end to the military dictatorship in place in south Korea. A military coup d'etat masterminded by a new junta of army officers under the leadership of Chun Doo Hwan seized power in what has become known as the 12-12 Incident. Anti-Chun protests swept the country and increased in size and intensity, culminating in a protest in Seoul on May 15, 1980. Chun retaliated with the proclamation of the Martial Law Decree No. 10. which extended the already existing martial law to Cheju Island, the dissolution of the National Assembly, the closing of all universities, banning labor strikes, and the prohibition of all political activity. Political demonstrations continued in the city of Kwangju and Chonnam National university students demanding an end to martial law, found themselves facing a contingent of black-bereted paratroopers. The indiscriminate clubbing and bayonetting of the demonstrators and spectators shocked the residents of Kwangju. By May 21, a full-scale insurrection had broken out and anti-government demonstrations quickly spread to other cities. When it was over, thousands of Kwangju residents were dead. A 1986 Asia Watch report noted that the city's death statistics for May 1980 were 2,300 over the monthly average, giving credence to the number of 2,000 dead, a figure claimed by eye-witnesses to the tragedy.

Public antipathy toward the Chun regime deepened in 1986. That year witnessed a wave of unprecedented student protests by self-immolation, massive confrontations between the police and demonstrating students and workers, especially in the industrial port city of Inch'on in May, and at Kon'guk University in October. Popular calls for a direct election of the president, in the upcoming elections in 1987, through the amending of the Constitution
gained wide support.

The catalyst that finally touched off a popular explosion was Chun's abrupt suspension of the Constitutional amendment debate on April 13, 1987. Another event that added fuel to the fire was the death of a Seoul National University student Park Chong-ch'ol from torture. The death attracted considerable attention in the press and for the first time, the south Korean government openly acknowledged the fact of police torture as accused by international human rights bodies and thereby called into question all its previous denials of the use of torture in interrogations. The damage had been done and the Korean people rose up in a massive democratic movement in June.

Roh Tae Woo and the Sixth Republic (1988 - 1993)

The political turmoil that broke out in the wake of the convention of the ruling party on June 10, lessened gradually with the June 29 Declaration of Roh Tae Woo, a major player in the 12-12 Incident and the presidential candidate for the ruling party. Roh was shrewd enough to realize that he needed legitimacy and social reforms if he were to win the upcoming presidential elections. Constitutional reforms took place along with the belated release of the major leaders of the opposition. The promises for labor union activity and free speech did not come easily. This period saw the largest number of people detained under national security legislations numbering more than 5,000 and the appearance of the progressive Han Kyoreh newspaper was only possible after much struggle. Roh made no clean break with past regimes and the continued use of old security laws and forces such as the Agency for National Security Planning (ANSP) were still intact. Whatever reforms that Roh promised were limited in scope and were used only to solidify his power base.

The Civilian Government of Kim Young Sam (1993 - )

In February 1993, a civilian president was elected to office amidst much hope for social reforms. President Kim Young Sam promised a "new Korea" that would be "a freer and more mature democratic society" and in the early days, some progress in human rights could be seen in the amnesties granted to prisoners of conscience and others.

The civilian government which grew out of the fruits of the people's movements, however, failed to live up to the expectations of the people. In the context of "globalization," the promises by the government on the improvement of human rights became non-existent and Kim openly cited the need to maintain economic growth as the justification for suppressing labor rights. In May and June 1995, the limitations of "a new Korea" were confirmed when the government severely suppressed labor protests that broke out in the auto and telecommunications industries. The Korean political situation especially in the human rights sector, saw no overall improvement. As of Dec 5, 1995, there are 352 prisoners of conscience detained and national security violations still occupy 75.5% of the arrests. There are still 63 long term prisoners of conscience and and twenty four of the long term prisoners have served for more than 24 years.

Interests and expectations have risen again in late 1995, with the somewhat belated arrests of former presidents Chun and Roh on corruption charges and for their involvement in the 12-12 military coup d'etat and the Kwangju massacre. The outcomes of such "truth-telling" trials are to be seen in the near future.

I. Major Human Rights Issues in Korea

1) Major Anti-Human Rights Laws
The National Security Law (NSL)

The National security Law (NSL) since its promulgation in 1948, is the most representative of the anti-human rights instruments in south Korea. The law has come under severe domestic and international criticism for its arbitrariness. It has contributed to the spread of red terror within the society and worked against the development of democratic processes in Korea. It has affected every aspect of the society and justified the ruling elite of military dictators and corrupted public officials. Militarism and corruption pervaded into every sector of the Korean society and has delayed the emergence of a civil society in south Korea.

The NSL has been a political and legal instrument for silencing any opposition against the government. Though amended seven times in the past, the NSL still remains vague and broadly defined. Unfair provisions such as "anti-state" remains arbitrary and abstract to this day and many human rights activists face detention due to such arbitrariness. This provision also runs counter to the law on north-south exchange and cooperation and remains an obstacle to inter-Korean relations. North Korea has continuously called for the abrogation of the NSL as a basic step towards achieving national reconciliation. The anachronistic legal provision of "failure to notify" is the continuation of the inhumane violations of the human rights to family members of a person already detained. The 2-week detention of 40 persons from the labor, youth and the reunification movements in 1995, show the very anachronism of the law. Arrests under the NSL commonly amount to over 70% of the overall number of arrests.

Security Observation Act

The Security Observation Act exists with the purpose of preventing the re-commitment of past crimes and is the successor to the Social Surveillance Act. Anyone under observation is required to report every three months to the nearest police station. This goes against the personal freedoms of maintaining privacy and physical freedom. This is a gross violation of the personal freedoms of a person. No one needs permission to go on a trip or the permission to live in a different area. Former long term prisoners of conscience who were released after more than twenty to thirty years in prison are usually subject to such degrading observations. The long awaited freedom is once again restricted and society becomes a wall-less prison for them.

Labor-Related Laws

Despite the intense criticism from the International Labor Organization, of which south Korea is a party, on the reform of violative labor provisions, the unfair practice of labor laws still continues in south Korea. Several key labor laws violate the fundamental principle of the right to freedom of association. These include the Trade Union Law, the Labor Dispute Mediation Act, the Public Servants Act, and the Private School Act.

A. The Prohibition of Multiple Trade Unions

The Trade Union Law provisions exist to prevent the formation of a rival trade union to the government-controlled unions or national trade union confederation. This provision outlaws any alternatives to the company-sponsored unions or the union federations created under the past military dictatorships. This statute goes against provisions in the Korean Constitution which guarantees the right to organize as well as the ILO Convention No. 87, has denied workers' participation in the union of their choosing and has resulted in the labor movement lacking any legal status despite the massive participation of the workers. Similarly at the industry level, industrial federations formed in 1987, were unable to obtain legal recognition due to the existence of the government-recognised and sponsored Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU). This shows clearly the infringement of labor rights and the freedom of association recognized in international labor law as it makes it impossible for workers to challenge the leadership or its official status of government-sponsored unions.

Thus, the trade unions organized after 1987 created the "democratic trade union camp" and has culminated in the inaugural in October 1995 of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (minju noch'ong), the national center of all democratic trade unions. It boasts over 500,000 members and over a thousand company-level unions. Since the KCTU is a competitor to the FKTU, the government has declared it an illegal organization and KCTU President Kwon Yong-gil is awaiting trial under the violation of the third party intervention provision. (see below for more information).

B. The Prohibition of "Third Party Intervention"

The prohibition of "third party intervention" contained in the Trade Union Law and the Labor Dispute Mediation Act (Article 13-2) stipulates that "any person other than a worker who has actual employment relations with the employer or the concerned trade union...shall not engage in an act of interference" to influence the formation of a trade union or instigate a dispute. Any "interference" can include anything from individual advocacy to organized, peaceful displays of solidarity. The ban of "third party intervention" has been used to grossly violate the right to free expression in the context of labor disputes. It has been used to justify criminal prosecution and the imprisonment of union leaders for their non-violent exercise of their legitimate trade union activities.

The ILO has decided in 1987 that the prohibition on "third party intervention" violated the ILO Convention No. 87 as a "serious restriction on the free functioning of trade unions." In August 1995, the United Nations Human Rights Committee declared that imprisonment under "third party intervention" violated Article 19(2) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which guarantees freedom of expression. Recommendations were sent to the south Korean government to repeal the unfair practices of the provision but to this day, no government action has been taken.

C. Denial of Freedom of Association for Public Servants & Teachers

The denial of freedom of association to public servants, including school teachers, is another serious infringement of human rights. Public school teachers are classified as educational public servants and under the National Civil Service, have been prohibited from organizing, engaging in collective bargaining, and taking collective action. The Private School Act extends this prohibition to private school teachers.

Due to such definitions of school teachers, the south Korean government contends that the teachers' unions have no legal basis because teachers are public servants and not workers. Accordingly, teachers have been dismissed - 1,500 in 1989 - and arrested for activities in support of an independent union known as the Korean Teachers and Educational Workers' Union (chonkyojo). All these run counter to the ILO Convention 151 which protects the rights of public workers to organize. It mandates that public service organizations "shall enjoy complete independence from public authorities." In May 1995, the UN Committee on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights recommended that the south Korean government "immediately amend its laws and regulations concerning the freedom to form trade unions and the right to strike.... In particular, measures should be taken to ensure that teachers, civil servants, and others have the right to form trade unions and to take strike action."

2) Foreign Migrant Workers

The number of foreign migrant workers in south Korea is estimated to be around 150,000. Out of this, an estimated 100,000 are staying illegally in Korea. Most enter Korea on a three-month tourist visa and stay for two or three years while others enter as trainees and stay illegally after secretly running away from their workplace. Most of the workers work in the so-called 3-D jobs in small industries. If illegal migrant workers are caught by the authorities during their stay, a fine of 100,000 Korean won (about US $ 130) per month is charged for the duration of their illegal stay and the workers are then forcibly expelled from the country. If the fine cannot be paid, the authorities would extend the length of the stay in order for the workers to work to pay for their fines before expelling them.
The issue of foreign migrant workers in Korea has become a serious social phenomenon and to counter this, the Korean government has created the trainee system but this has only added to the problems. Trainees work 12 to 16 hours a day and receive about US$ 200 to 300 a month in comparison to illegal workers who get about US$ 600 to 1,300 per month. In the case of death due to workplace accidents, families of trainees get compensation up to US$ 18,750 while illegal workers can get up to US$ 100,000 after going through the compulsory civil trials. This situation has proved very attractive to trainees and about 30% have left their workplace and are working illegally. In order to prevent such escapes, employers of trainees have prohibited telephone calls, letters, outings and have confiscated passports and delayed giving wages for periods up to six months. Escaped trainees when caught are put in chains and handcuffed, starved and usually, severely treated. Such conditions have led to more than 10 Nepali trainees to go on strike at the Myongdong Cathedral in early January, 1995.

Despite such inhumane treatment, illegal workers did not dare bring the matter to the authorities due to their illegal status and fear of expulsion. Many still suffer from mistreatment and some have not receive any compensation for physical injuries in workplace accidents. The human rights violations of migrant workers will continue as long as there exists a need to use cheap labor in Korean society and thus, every attempt at reforming the industrial structure must be taken to accomodate these workers and to ensure that the basic rights of the workers are protected.

3) Prisoners of Conscience and Long-Term Prisoners of Conscience

As of December 5, 1995, there are 352 prisoners of conscience in Korea. Of this, 266 persons (75.5%) have been charged with NSL violations (see following tables below for more information).

Table 1. Prisoners of Conscience According to Occupational Categorization

Total Students
Laborers Long-term prisoners Peasants Military Dissidents
352 91 47 63 1 11 139

Table 2. Prisoners of Conscience According to Legal Violations

Total NSL Law on Assembly, Demonstration & Violence Labor-related laws Third party intervention law Law for obstruction of public duty
352 266
75.5% 50
14,2% 42
11.9% 6
1.7% 20
5.6%

Table 3. Long-Term Prisoners According to Age & Length of Imprisonment

Age Length of imprisonment Age Length of imprisonment
Total 60 Total 63
over 70 years old 5 over 35 years old 2
60 -69 years old 29 30 - 34 years 10
50 - 59 years old 14 29 - 20 years 12
below 49 years 15 less than 20 years 39

III. "Cleansing the Past" and "Righting the Wrongs of History"

The recent developments in the government's attempts in "cleansing the past" and "righting the wrongs of history" have gained much popular support in lieu of the discovery of a slush fund belonging to former presidents Chun Doo Hwan and Roh Tae Woo. The arrests and subsequent trials of the two former dictators on corruption and for their role in the infamous Kwangju Massacre, is of utmost historical importance to Koreans. Korea has experienced virtually no accountability for past wrongdoing such as human rights abuses under the recent military rule. Nor has there been legal justice for victims of past abuses.

The arrests of the two former dictators was a victory for the people's continous struggles since the bloody crackdown of the people's uprising in Kwangju in May, 1980. Without the struggles and pressure from the Korean people, the Kim Young Sam government would have not taken such a historical measure. President Kim's passive attitude has undergone a tremendous change as two years ago, he asserted that the May 18 issue be left to historical judgement. The issue would not be investigated or brought to trial during his term in office. Furthermore, the prosecutor's office concluded that there was no basis for indictment. In protest against the decision, a task force on the May 18 issue was formed by about 200 NGOs for the legislation of the May 18 Special Law and called for a new investigation into the issue and launched a series of nation-wide campaigns. At the same time, over 5,000 university professors signed statements asking for the withdrawal of the prosecutor's decision on not to indict , a new investigation into the truth, the appointment of a special prosecutor, reparations of the victims by the state and so on.

In the midst of escalating campaigns and protests, the slush-fund scandal was revealed by a member of the opposition party. President Kim was in a most difficult position as he was under the suspicion of having received a considerable amount of money from Roh Tae-woo during the 1992 presidential campaign. President Kim unexpectedly revealed the government's decision to arrest Roh and Chun and it would be closer to the truth, to say that Kim had no choice but to do so in order to divert public criticism from the political crisis that he was facing and not by his genuine political determination to cleanse the past. Nevertheless, his initiative was welcomed by the majority of the Korean people.

"Cleansing the past" and "righting the wrongs of history" will play a critical part in the transition to true democracy in Korea. However, the weaknesses of the recent attempts are all too vividly clear.

The cleanup drive has been criticized for being a cleanup of only the top echelons. The prosecutor's office has recently decided to indict only the two former presidents and a few people implicated in the Kwangju massacre instead of all those people who had severely and inhumanely infringed on the human rights of the Kwangju people in May 1980. This action has angered the groups of victims and the advocates working for justice and solution to this issue. It is quite clear that this issue of "cleansing the past" has been based on political judgement and not on the standards of human rights. Internationally accepted principles on the issue of impunity and any consideration for the victims have been ignored.

The Korean government has also been very monopolistic on the issue as every development is masterminded by the Blue House. As explained above, the cleansing the past is part of a political scenario of the Kim Young Sam government for the forthcoming general elections in April, 1996, and therefore, other political forces such as opposition parties and social movements which have been struggling against the two former dictators have almost been excluded from the events connected to the "cleansing the past."

The cleanup drive has not gone beyond the quantitative aspect of the arrests and has not affected structural changes in society. It does not refer to the misdeeds of the previous dictatorships before the 5th and 6th Republics. There were many cases of gross human rights violations such as crime against humanity in the 1960s' and 70s' before the 5th Republic, which deserve same degree of attention. In order to rectify the distorted past history, they should be taken up for re-investigation and trial.

Cleaning up the past and righting the wrongs of history should not be a political game or show, rather an on-going process which require full participation of civil society from the grassroots levels. There are a lot of people who have been collaborating with two former dictators during the 5th and 6th Republics in business, media, academic and political arena. It is needless to say that there will be no real cleansing of the past unless preventive legal mechanism and measures be implemented in order to deter future occurrences of similar corruption and treason.

In conclusion, this historical momentum will be lost unless the Kim Young Sam government opens the forum to include other political and social forces from all walks of society. However, this historical momentum will not bear fruit unless the Korean government reflect the voices of the people's movements and the victims in the historical proceedings of cleansing the past and righting the wrongs of history.

3. Recent NGO Developments

The major human rights NGOs under the umbrella organization of the Korea Human Rights Network (KOHRNET) have been active in the forefront of recent political developments in south Korea. One of the most significant achievements in the past year, has been the release of Mr Kim Sun-myung (aged 72) along with two other long-term prisoners. Mr Kim who was Korea's longest serving long-term prisoner, has been in prison for 44 years and Korean human rights NGOs under the initiative of the Minkahyup Human Rights Group, have carried out extensive domestic and international campaigns calling for his unconditional release. The Korean government has never openly acknowledged the problem of long-term prisoners and the release of Mr Kim was a sign of acknowledgement on the problem and is a sign of concession on the effectiveness of NGO pressure. However, there are still more than twenty long-term prisoners, including Mr Woo Young-gak (who has been in prison for more than 38 years) imprisoned to this day. All long-term prisoners must be freed immediately on humanitarian grounds.

A significant event was undertaken in November 1995 which would have far-reaching impact in the workers' movement as well as other social movements. The historic inaugural of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) came about after tremendous struggle and sacrifice on the part of the workers on the realization of independent democratic union activity and the economic rights of the workers. This is the first and the largest national organization of independent and democratic trade unions in the history of the Korean labor movement. However, Mr. Kwon Yong-gil, Chairperson of the KCTU has been arrested in violation of the "third party intervention" provision in November 1995. Campaigns for his release and on unfair labor practices has been undertaken extensively.

Korean human rights NGOs have taken increasing awareness about the importance of international solidarity and the usage of United Nations human rights mechanisms in dealing with Korean human rights issues. Korean NGO counter reports on United Nations Reports such as the counter report on the social and economic rights (ICESCR) were published. The Korea NGOs Coalition for the Rights of the Child was formed in order to publish a counter report to the UN Report on the Rights of the Child. On the occasion of the visit of the United Nations Special Rapporteur of the Freedom of Expression, KOHRNET played a special role in providing necessary information on the Korean situation and in arranging meetings with human rights victims.

Most recently, KOHRNET organized an international conference on the national security laws in the Asia-Pacific in late November 1995 in order to promote new ideas on the transformation of national security into the new concept of human security.