The Plight of N. Korean rights in S. Korea

Lee Jong-seok has been going through a process (now, i need to admit that i am not a Korean politics scholar here) that seems to resemble our congressional approval of appointed officials. Lee was grilled, understandably due to a seemingly small yet important fact concerning his education:

The 48-year-old has an academic background linked to controversial figures such as Professors Song Du-yul and Kang Jeong-koo, both of whom created a stir with their allegedly pro-North Korean arguments and are heartily disliked by the conservatives.

Unfortunately, no matter whether he is fully a Kang Jeong-koo disciple or not, Lee has already shown his hand in regards to N. Korean human rights:

"But in terms of our North Korea policy of peace and stability on the Korean peninsula, it is my judgment that publicly demanding an improvement in human rights conditions cannot come before pursuing a peace policy," he said.

This wasn't the lowest point for NKHR this week. A musical directed by a defector that showcases the hardships of prison camp life has been. The piece, dubbed "Yudok Story" has received official pressure because of the blunt way it confronts the reality of the NK prison camp system. Over half the funding has been cut in an attempt to strangle the production. This is, unfortunately, par for the course. Our [LiNK] office has often pointed to the S. Korean government's pressure on NKHR groups as a specifically discouraging part of Uri Dang policy. With that said, one can imagine that the last thing one the list (who am i kidding, it wasn't even on the list) for these officials visiting Pyongyang was human rights. *sigh*