Ahn Chang-ho, the head of the National Human Rights Commission, moves with President Yoon Suk-yeol after the appointment ceremony at the presidential office in Yongsan, Seoul, on September 12 last year. Courtesy of the presidential office

The fall of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) is unbearable to see. It has blatantly favored President Yoon Suk-yeol's rebellion and is going backwards, forgetting its role as an independent body that should be at the forefront of defending constitutional fundamental rights and human rights.

The NHRC proposed a "recommendation for measures to overcome the national crisis caused by the declaration of martial law" as an agenda to be discussed at the first plenary session of the new year on January 13. It is to ask the Constitutional Court to thoroughly guarantee the right to defense in the impeachment trial of Yoon, and to recommend that the heads of investigative agencies, such as the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) and prosecutors, refrain from detaining and arresting those suspected of rebellion. In other words, the NHRC is in defense of Yoon, who has built a fortress-like defense wall around his official residence in Hannam-dong, Seoul, and is defying law enforcement.

As the background of the agenda, the NHRC explained, “The declaration of martial law is an inherent power granted to the president, and it is not reprehensible for the defense minister and others to support the president's decision.” This is no different from the unreasonable claims of insurgents and the far right. Kim Yong-won, a standing committee member who led the presentation of the agenda, did not hesitate to say at a press conference on January 10, "The national crisis at hand is not due to the president's declaration of martial law itself, but because opposition parties, including Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, have framed President Yoon for 'rebellion' and even impeached the prime minister.” The NHRC denied all evidence and findings of the prosecution and police's investigation into the rebellion that Yoon ordered the military to blockade the National Assembly, even at gunpoint, and sent arrest squads to take over the National Election Commission. These are ludicrous statements that do not even have a basic sense of citizenship of democracy, let alone the protection of human rights.

Ahn Chang-ho, the head of NHRC, is said to have pushed through this anti-human rights and anti-democratic agenda in spite of the concerns of former heads and secretary-generals of the commission and civil society. Will the NHRC bear the historical stigma of being an accomplice to the rebellion and go against the will of the overwhelming majority of Koreans? Ahn should immediately apologize to the public and stop presenting the agenda supporting unconstitutional emergency martial law and civil war. Furthermore, the NHRC should reform itself to prevent further regression.