18 Oct 2015

South Korean LGBTI Activists Denied Entry To Gender Ministry's National Assembly Audit

The Gender Ministry's National Assembly audit in South Korea allegedly denied entry to activists on Monday despite being scheduled early on to attend the event as witnesses.

The group of activists (which included members of LGBTQ Youth Crisis Support Center) was invited to the audit session on Oct. 5. However, they were informed by the Assembly's Gender Equality and Family Committee hours later that their invitation was revoked.

"Every other witness, six of them, who had been previously scheduled to attend the audit ended up attending the audit," said Na Young, one of the LGBTI activists.

The activists tried to hand deliver a letter to Gender Minister Kim Hee-jung after the audit session. As the minister refused to accept it, Kim's secretary accepted it instead.

Apparently the decision was made by Committee Chairwoman Rep. Yoo Seung Hee of the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy.

However, Rep. Yoo's office refuted the accusations, saying: "The chairwoman of the committee cannot finalize the list of witnesses by herself. It's untrue that Rep. Yoo denied their entry," according to the Korean Herald.

According to activists Jeong Min Seok, director of the DDing Dong LGBTQ Youth Crisis Support Center, and Ryu Min Hee, attorney at the Korean Lawyers for Public Interest and Human Rights. the group was invited to the audit session on Oct. 5. However, they were informed by the Assembly's Gender Equality and Family Committee hours later that their invitation was revoked.