[보도자료][PRESS RELEASE] 2020 Survey on South Koreans’ Perception of Human Rights in North Korea

2020-12-29

 

PRESS RELEASE

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

Date of Issue: December 29th (Tues), 2020

For inquiries: Please contact Hanna Song, NKDB at nkdb.org@hotmail.com or 070-42036621

 

North Korean Human Rights Perception Among South Koreans is Backsliding; 60% Say Government and Private Sector Must Work Together

 

 

 

○ NKDB and NKSR publish the ‘2020 Survey on South Koreans’ Perception of Human Rights in North Korea.’
○ NKSR’s results show that the “South Korean general public’s perception of North Korean human rights has returned to the level in 2015; the preference for policies are heavily affected by political orientation.” "

○ 88% of the South Korean public say, "the North Korean human rights situation is serious"... More than half of them are pessimistic about the possibility of improving human rights in North Korea.

 

1.      The Database Center for North Korean Human Rights (NKDB) and North Korean Social Research (NKSR) will hold a seminar on the results of the "2020 Survey on South Koreans’ Perception of Human Rights in North Korea" on the 29th of December, 2020. This survey has been conducted every year since 2014 to regularly gauge public awareness and policy assessment of North Korean human rights based on the changing human rights environment of the United Nations, South Korea's change in administration, North Korea's human rights law enforcement, inter-Korean and U.S.-North Korea summit talks, and anti-war legislation.

 

2.      NKSR was established in 2013 with the aim of researching not only the political, social, and economic sectors of North Korea, but also the resettlement status of North Korean defectors and those that experienced life in North Korea. NKSR maintains a panel of North Korean defectors who live across South Korea.

 

3.      In 2020, issues related to North Korean human rights, including conflicts between the government and civil society organizations regarding the investigation and record keeping of North Korean human rights, concerns over the government's monopolization of the collection of North Korean human rights records, the killing of the South Korean fishery official, and the enactment of the Anti-Leaflet Law. In response, this year's survey added a question about who should be responsible for conducting investigations and collecting records of human rights abuses in North Korea.

 

4.      According to the survey, more than 60% of the general public think that 'investigations and record-keeping activities of North Korean human rights abuses' should be conducted through the cooperation between the government and the private sector and should actively intervene in North Korean human rights issues through the lens of universal human rights. In addition, more than 78% of respondents said that the role of North Korean human rights organizations are extremely necessary in recording and archiving cases of North Korean human rights violations, but there is a clear difference in preferred policy alternatives based on political orientation, such as international cooperation (supported amongst conservatives) and dialogue and support (supported amongst progressives).

 

5.      Overall, public awareness regarding the improvement of North Korean human rights had changed dramatically since the 2017 impeachment of President Park Geun-hye and change in administration through the 2018 summit, but it is now returning to the 2014-2015 levels as of 2020 (See attached Table 1 for detailed findings).

 

6.      NKDB and NKSR appreciate your attention and coverage of the the results of the ‘2020 Survey on South Koreans’ Perception of Human Rights in North Korea.’.

 


 

Event Information

 

Event Overview

- Title: 2020 Survey on South Koreans’ Perception of Human Rights in North Korea

- Date and Time: December 29, 2020 (Tue), 2:30-3:50 p.m. KST

- Method of Participation: Due to the rise in cases of COVID-19 and  social distancing guidelines, the seminar will be held online. (further details below)

            - Webinar Registration: https://forms.gle/t71UzbevWAGDFh958

            - Youtube Live: Search for ‘디비티비(DBTV)’ or ‘NKDB’ and connect to our live stream.

 

Event Agenda

14:00 - 14:10 Opening Remarks by NKDB Chairman of the Board, Shin Young-ho

            - Topic 1: Presentation on the results of the 2020 Survey on South Koreans’ Perception of Human Rights in North Korea - 2:10 ~ 2:30 Oh Seung-ho, Director of the Public Polling Department at Hankook Research

            - Topic 2: Presentation on the disparity between public opinion and governmental policy regarding North Korean human rights

14:30 - 14:50 Lim Soon-hee, Director of Operations at NK Social Research (NKSR)

14:50 - 15:00 Break

15:00 - 15:40 Question and Answer Period

15:40 - 15:50 Closing Remarks by NKDB Chairman of the Board, Shin Young-ho