This article was originally published on Voice of America and translated by OKN Correspondent.
Lee Shin-hwa, a professor at Korea University, was appointed South Korea’s new ambassador-at-large for North Korean human rights on the 28th and received her credentials from Foreign Minister Park Jin on the 28th to start her duties.
Ambassador Lee will be in charge of cooperating with foreign governments, international organizations, and civil society organizations on North Korean human rights and the humanitarian situation for a one-year period.
“I feel the responsibility and much weight on my shoulders. The North Korean human rights issue is connected to the identity of the Republic of Korea promoting universal values for humanity, and I want to do what I can in that respect,” Ambassador Lee said.
Ambassador Lee said regarding the repatriation issue of North Korean defectors, “We have to look at the case from the perspectives of implementing the international Non-Refoulement principles and North Korean human rights law,” and added, “The forced repatriation without due process was a violation of both the international and domestic law.”
The North Korean Human Rights Law that took effect in 2016 in South Korea is the basis for appointing an ambassador for North Korean human rights. The position remained vacant after Lee Jung-hoon, a professor at the Graduate School of International Studies at Yonsei University, was appointed in September 2016 for his one-year term.
