Nation's two leading candidates silent on human rights issues

A coalition of prominent human rights organizations, both within South Korea and internationally, including the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and Human Rights Watch, sought to engage the nation's leading presidential contenders regarding fundamental rights. However, their questionnaires have reportedly been met with silence from the two front-runners. According to Human Rights Watch, Wednesday, Kim Moon-soo, the presidential candidate of the conservative People Power Party, and his liberal rival, Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party of Korea, have notably declined to respond. The unanswered questions addressed key issues such as freedom of speech, environmental responsibility and the future of human rights policy toward North Korea, among others. Another questionnaire sent jointly by the FIDH and the Transitional Justice Working Group (TJWG), a Seoul-based group, was also met with silence, according to a TJWG official. “It is deeply disappointing that voters will have to cast their ballots without knowing where the two major candidates stand on key issues,” the oWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times