Will This Be the Year NK Human Rights Shakes S Korean Politics?

Our Message at Their Doors. Adrian Hong addresses a crowd of supporters in front of the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade here–in Korean.

The things I’ve heard from many sources tell me that the Freedom House Conference in Seoul could be a galvanizing event. As with FH’s conference in DC last summer (see sidebar links), I have no doubt that LiNK will play a major role. The political stars are also starting to line up our way. Early indications suggest that the GNP–despite, or perhaps because of, its opportunistic leadership–is picking up on the potential of this message.

Even the Democratic Labor Party is starting to search its soul (via Antti Leppänen’s superb but unpronounceable blog, which I should have blogrolled months ago).

The party (DLP) needs to have a discussion and formulate an opinion on the questions of the return of kidnapped fishermen, human rights of North Korean refugees, workers’ rights, democracy, and the DPRK political system. These are issues which no more shall be avoided on the pretext of causing discomfort to DPRK.

Imagine that. It’s almost a better ideological fit with the Kim Moon-Soo wing of the GNP than the paleocons it’s offering up for the next election.

Expect strange things to happen in Korean politics in 2006.