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Wikipedia assignment – Human rights in South Korea

'' The sentences in italics are from the original wikipedia article on Human rights in South Korea with their sources. ''

Human rights in South Korea are codified in the Constitution of the Republic of Korea, which complies the legal rights of its citizens. These rights are protected by the Constitution and include amendments and national referendum. These rights have evolved significantly from the days of military dictatorship to the current state as a constitutional democracy with free and fair elections for the presidency and the members of the National Assembly. In both parts of Korea, human rights are legally protected by the Constitution, although the practise and execution of these rights are negligible in the Northern part of Korea, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

South Korean democracy has legally protected rights for political, civil and socio-economic individuals, although there are limitation and even discrimination against certain groups. These groups are certified as at-risk groups comprises of women, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons (LGTB) and racial and ethnic minorities such as refugees and migrants.

According to the Freedom in the World index, South Korea is considered to have a high human rights record in the category for human freedom in civil and political rights, with 83 points out of the 100 points.

In the Constitution, the citizens are given the rights of freedom of speech, press, petition and assembly for its nationals. However, there are some limitation in human rights ''sofar the freedom of speech regarding communism and North Korea. The National Security Act criminalizes speech which is in support of communism or the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Though it is unevenly enforced, and prosecutions decline every year, there are still over 100 cases brought annually.''

Modify this section to a new section 'History'

In 1967, the KCIA […] reading "communist literature."

Contents

1. History

2. Civil liberties

2.1 Individual rights

2.2 Minority and migrants' rights

2.3 Refugees from North Korea

2.4 Military

2.5 Criminal Justice System

3. Human trafficking

4. See also

5. References

6. Further reading

7. External link


 * 1) History

The emergence of human rights can be traced back to the Choson Dynasty (1392-1910) with the enlightenment movement reformers Kim Ok-Kyun, So Chae-p'il and Pak Yong-Hyo. Before that, the traditional political ideals were based in the NeoConfuciansim that dominantly focused on the paternalistic responsibility of the government and their ruling. In the 19th century, these ideas transformed into the equality of gender and social class.

These ideas spread during the Japanese colonial period (1910-1945) and solidified civil and political rights in 1919 in Shanghai by Korean refugees. Within Korea, the circulation of the ideas of rights provided experience in the organization and protest strategy. Since under the colonial rule, many Koreans experienced dual legal standards and abuse such as torture by the Japanese. Hence, the establishment of a legal system was pursued by the Korean nationalists.

After the liberation from the Japanese rule in 1945, the execution of the human rights was hindered by factors as the division of the northern and southern part and their ideological conflict. Also, the practices of the Japanese colonial rule were still in place and enacted. The intervention of the United States advisors to prevent the use of force and violence in political cases were unsuccessful as well as the sponsorship for legal reforms. These conflicts continued in the presidency of Park Chung-hee.

In 1967, the KCIA fabricated a spy ring, imprisoning 34 citizens, to solidify the rule of Park Chung-hee.

After the Gwangju Massacre in 1980, public desire for democracy and greater civil liberties was increasingly expressed; the years just before the 1988 Seoul Olympics saw an increase in pro-democracy activity that forced free elections to be held in 1992, putting long-time human rights activist Kim Young-sam into power.

The Burim Case in 1981, saw innocent individuals, who were part of a book club, arbitrary arrested and severely tortured into making a false confession that they were reading "communist literature."

Under the presidency of Kim Dae-jung, a democracy activist and a Nobel Peace Price recipient; and Roh Moo-hyun, a former human right lawyer-turned-politician, the Republic of Korea was progressive in the foundation of the human rights. The National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) was founded by the government and rule of president Kim. During his rule, NGO's relating to rights fields were given funds to operate and strengthen the civil society. When his successor Roh followed the former president and promoted reforms such as transparency, expanding welfare and social support, the nation had high hopes. However, his inexperience in the political arena slowed down the execution of his plans.

Following these presidencies are Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-Hye, both rulings led to a downfall of the political freedom and human rights sector through budget cuts, defamation suits against the press. During Park's presidency term, a UN investigator was arrant to make a critical assessment on the performance and execution of the president Park of protests.

in this section, I added citations and edited the text of the ciation needed sentences!

2. Civil liberties

Every Korean citizen over the age of 19 has the right to vote.

In the Constitution of Republic of Korea, there are rights and freedoms for its citizens. For instance, freedom of speech or press. Hence, there is no official censorship in place.

''The National Security Law makes it a crime to express sympathies with North Korea, and though it is not consistently enforced, there are over 100 people imprisoned under it annually. A play about the Yodok political prison camp in North Korea has come under significant pressure from authorities to tone down its criticism and the producers have allegedly been threatened with prosecution under the security law. Some conservative groups have complained that police keep a tight watch on their demonstrations and that some people were prevented from attending rallies. Former Unification Minister Chung Dong-young was once accused of attempting to distract reporters from a meeting of activists for human rights in North Korea. Several established human rights organizations, however, have held lectures and exhibits critical of North Korea with no interference.''

However, there is a striking phenomenon in the censorship, which is more visible and executed in the media. ''Songs and theater play in Japanese language or relating to Japan are generally prohibited. Despite the lifting of most regulations in 1996 and 1998 following a Constitutional Court ruling that they were illegal, scenes of extreme violence can be barred and pornography is forbidden from showing penetration of any kind, and genitals must be blurred out. Though technically legal, pornography must still meet some minimum standards of artistic integrity, which are not clearly written in the law. In 1997 a human rights film festival was blocked and the organizers arrested for refusing to submit their films for pre-screening.''

The government blocks access to North Korean websites and, sometimes, to major overseas web sites that host blogs.