제주평화연구원

  [caption id="" align="alignright" width="150"] Kim In Hoe
Professor of Inha Law School[/caption]

Peace and Human Rights, the Future of Jeju

  This article seeks to find answers concerning the future of Jeju from peace and human rights. The future of the island may vary. The future should include economic prosperity. The bountifulness of Jeju is an indeed appealing aspect of the island. On top of economic prosperity, Jeju may develop in various forms in the years to come. Therefore, it would be shortsighted to take action, focusing only on economic prosperity. Just as important as economic prosperity are peace and human rights more importantly, it is the happiness and well-being of every single individual and those who cherish Jeju that we should pay attention to.

  The article highlights peace and human rights, as requirements for the happiness and well-being of Jeju’s future. The reason why seeking the future of Jeju from peace and human rights starts from the fact that they are two important future values. Another reason is that Jeju has a lot of assets when it comes to peace and human rights. It would be very unfortunate if we neither appreciate the value nor make use of them.

  Among a number of assets that Jeju has, the first asset with respect to peace and human rights is the experience of settling the past issues related to Jeju 4.3. Jeju’s second asset is its openness as an island located in the heart of Northeast Asia. Both of them serve as the two most fundamental assets when designing the future of the island. By interpreting these unique assets as peace and human rights - two universal values - and persuading the world, you can picture the future of Jeju. All things taken together, the resulting equation is as follows:

“ {4.3 + Openness = Present Jeju } + Peace + Human Rights = Future Jeju ”

  The article aims to demonstrate why this equation holds. Excluded from this equation is economic prosperity however, this does not mean that economic prosperity is not crucial. Economic affluence is also essential when it comes to the happiness and well-being of each person - this is a fact which cannot be denied. Talking about a person’s mental well-being in a situation where livelihood issues such as clothing, food, and housing are not properly addressed is nothing more than Lu Xun’s euphemism for “spiritual victories”. Let’s say, in order to pay for medical expenses to save one family member who is seriously ill if one has to sell a house, it can be considered a tragedy no matter how much the family members love each other. It is hard to talk about happiness when issues regarding clothing, food, and housing, health care and education, and aging and care services exist.

  However, though economic affluence is essential for happiness, it does not mean that the more people have, the happier they become. When economic affluence reaches a certain level, it is better not to pursue more – wanting more may cause people trouble. Based on the law of marginal utility, if a person accumulates a certain level of economic wealth, money does not make that person happy any more, rather leading to worries. Therefore, in human history, riches, desires, selfishness, and foolishness have been what people always have to keep vigilant against. They were once treated as taboos publicly. Having wealth to feed oneself and live a life when one becomes old would suffice.

  Economic prosperity would be meaningless if an individual does not feel happy. Economic prosperity in the situations, where conflicts occur with other countries or the central government, individual human rights are not guaranteed, the gap between the rich and poor is huge, and things are not fair for everyone, cannot make people happy. If a person is not happy, economic prosperity actually means nothing. If a conflict does get serious in the process of achieving economic prosperity, personal well-being will move further away. For personal well-being, we must escape from the illusion and the myth that economic prosperity is the most important factor in life.

   

Settlement of the Past Issues Related to Jeju 4.3

  The incident which brought the biggest pain to Jeju is Jeju 4.3. The pain was so great that some of the people have not completely gotten over it yet. Following the launch of the Moon Jae-in Administration, efforts to resolve historical issues were resumed, and settling the historical issues regarding Jeju 4.3 was included in the effort, demonstrating that the scars the tragic incident left with the people of Jeju are so great. When the late president Kim Dae-jung order his administration to ascertain the truth and the late president Noh Moo-hyun apologized, the pain of Jeju became the pain of the nation. At the national level, Jeju 4.3 became the incident to find out the truth of, appease the sorrow and resentment of the victims, and remember. Now, we are at the stage of healing and recovery.

  Jeju 4.3 has become the pain of the whole world beyond Korea. It is not a domestic problem any more. The division of Korea was one reason that contributes to Jeju 4.3. It was a product of the Cold War, which led to brutal human rights abuses. Back in the past, it was caused by the Northeast Asian system formed after the Sino-Japanese War. Jeju 4.3 is the result of the combined causes of colonization, war, civil war, and violence inflicted by the central government following the Sino-Japanese War. When several countries in Northeast Asia fought against each other and one side exploded, Jeju 4.3 took place. In this regard, Jeju 4.3 is an international event.

  The event that earned Jeju 4.3 internationality and universality is when the Korean government decided to properly settle the past issues. The Korean government frankly acknowledged that Jeju 4.3 is the result of violence caused by the nation and began to clean up its past. Korea sought to settle the issues of history, which no other country in Northeast Asia has ever done, and saw the outcomes. The settlement of historical issues of Jeju 4.3 is also the starting point for Korea to squarely face its painful history. What is important in the rectification of past history is to uncover the truth and address the victim's sense of regret and injustice. If a person became a victim of violence inflicted by the central government though the person did not commit any crimes, the cause should be revealed and the victim's honor and human rights should be restored. The settlement of historical issues focusing on victims will comfort their souls and help unjust historical events to be remembered at the national level. It also presents directions and leads to system improvement in order to prevent this from happening again in the future. In comparison, the assailant's apology, forgiveness and punishment are secondary It would be great if the perpetrators gave apologies and felt guilty about what they did. However, without it, still the rectification of past history will continue and be completed. What I want to emphasize is that excessive pressure on the perpetrators should not result in forcing them to apologize or feel remorse. The result should be establishing a future-oriented definition.

  The rectification of the past can be done based on universal human rights. As seen in the Nuremberg trials in which former Nazi leaders were indicted and tried as war criminals after World War II, the war crimes trials highlight the values of peace and human rights. The Holocaust was not an ordinary crime committed by a criminal group called the Nazis against a particular group of Jews. Humankind realized that it was a violation of human dignity and basic human rights. Human dignity is most greatly and frequently violated during war. If not at war, human dignity and human rights are violated by state violence. Truth ascertainment of the past wrongdoings shows that in order to protect human dignity, people must choose peace over war and place human rights over everything else.

  People should look more closely into the issues with respect to war and human rights. War is a conflict over sovereignty. State violence is also committed on the pretext of protecting sovereignty. However, it is individuals who have to fall victim. It is basic human rights, such as individual life, freedom and life itself that are at stake. Until now, priority has always been given to sovereignty over human rights. Indeed, we have also learned from the textbook that sovereignty is most important and most powerful. For this reason, human rights have always been sacrificed by sovereignty. However, in the process of settling historical issues, it was revealed that there is a time when human rights precede sovereignty.

  Human rights violations caused by excessive exercises of sovereignty are not tolerated. Even if an exercise of sovereignty results in war and state violence, it is still regarded as an excessive exercise of sovereignty and cannot be justified if it violates individual human rights. The fact that through the settlement of past wrongdoings, a country acknowledges the infringement of basic human rights caused by war or state violence and makes a commitment to preventing the recurrence of such cases shows that human rights may be more important than sovereignty. It is still a criminal offense, if it violated human dignity and fundamental human rights even if they did it because they were commended to do so by the nation. It cannot be justified with an excuse that they did it to protect sovereignty. In this case, human rights precede sovereignty.

  The settlement of historical issues shows that priority is given to peace and human rights over sovereignty. While recognizing mistakes made in the past is a matter of the individual state, the resultant outcomes are the universal and global values of peace and human rights. Universal values go beyond the framework of the state and beyond sovereignty. It also conveys the value of peace and human rights to other countries. Among the issues the Korean government should resolve, especially the ones related to Jeju 4.3 go beyond the framework of Jeju and Korea and deliver the values of peace and human rights to Northeast Asia and the rest of the world. Universal values transcend time. Although historical issues are settled, people still need to make effort to secure peace and human rights in the future. This presents us with a challenge to further make the values of peace and humanity more concrete and spread.

   

  What Jeju symbolizes is how open a country Korea is however, openness emphasizes the need for peace and human rights. If peace and human rights are not guaranteed, open systems can be neither put in place nor maintained. Jeju, which symbolizes openness, can embody the significance of openness through peace and human rights.

  Korea is a nation that is almost completely open. Korea’s level of openness is the highest in the world. It appears that Korea, as a country located between powers, has no other alternative than opening. Korea has made rapid progress through an open system. An open system concerns not just the economy, but many other areas, such as politics, society, culture, science and knowledge. Jeju is an open region that leads the opening of Korea at the front.

  Northeast Asian countries are also open countries. Commodities and manpower coming and going between Korea, China and Japan are already the best in the world. In terms of human exchange alone, some 10 million people are moving between Korea and China and another million between Korea and Japan. Although the figures have been slightly shrunk due to a conflict with China over problems with the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) and economic conflicts with Japan, human exchanges between Korea, China and Japan are enormous. The exchange of material resources is also done on a huge scale. The movement of goods and capital has expanded in proportion to the economic development of Korea, China, and Japan. The three nations have enjoyed economic prosperity by relying on each other and opening one another.

  In order for more than 20 million people to travel and for goods and capital to freely move among Korea, China and Japan, safety and convenience must be guaranteed above all. If even one person is not properly protected by the state, a situation happens, where safe travel cannot be made. If human rights are not guaranteed, human exchange is brought to a halt.

  Suppose a Korean, after committing murder in China, fled to Japan and was arrested in Japan. Chinese authorities would request the extradition of the Korean who is a criminal. The demand of the Chinese government is due process because the victim is Chinese and both witnesses and evidence are in China. In addition, it is China that is shocked by the very crime. Justice must be done where the damage has occurred. However, China has its own drawbacks China still sentences death penalties and executes them. The Korean government can also request the extradition of the Korean as it has a duty to protect Koreans. The strength of the Korean government is that in South Korea, a capital punishment is rarely given and even though a death sentence may be pronounced, it is never executed. Since the last execution in December 1997, South Korea has never executed anyone for over 20 years – South Korea is a de facto abolitionist state. However, the problem is that there are no victims, no witnesses, and no evidence in South Korea.

  Now, what decision should the Japanese court make? Jurisdiction is a form of sovereignty therefore, this is the case in which sovereignty and sovereignty are in conflict. If one thinks only of sovereignty, the Korean should be extradited to China. It would be a lot easier to have a trial in China and there would be a lesson for the Chinese. However, the Japanese court must give custody of the Korean to the Korean government, for capital punishment that takes a person's life is anti-human rights. It is also a punishment against human dignity in that it destroys all human possibilities. This is the reason why the European abolished the death penalty. When a person’s life is at stake, human rights must be placed over sovereignty.

  Human dignity is absolutely equal to everyone. Human dignity is granted to everyone, regardless of whether it is a defendant on trial, a criminal who committed a crime, or a convict who does time in prison. Whether dignity should be extended to animals along with humans is still arguable, but there is no question that all human beings have equal dignity as long as they are humans. Human dignity and equality of dignity are the starting points of human rights. For this reason, basic human rights are given to all human beings, no matter what kind of job they have or what they did in the past.

  Openness ensures human dignity internationally beyond the state that one belongs to. Koreans, at least, have the right not to be executed, so other countries should respect this as well. Just like Koreans, Chinese and Japanese have the right not to be executed. This is because human rights transcend national boundaries.

  Openness expands universal values, such as peace and human rights. This is because a person needs to understand people from other towns, foreigners, and other ethnic groups to open them up. Universal values that transcend the peoples and nations can only develop when peace and human rights are present conversely, universal values expand peace and human rights. Openness ensures personal happiness and well-being this way.

  Jeju symbolizes the open society of Korea. As it symbolizes an open society, it also symbolizes universal values that are accepted internationally. These universal values include peace and human rights. Jeju has geographical features that symbolize peace and human rights. On top of that, Jeju also has the historical features of settling the historical issues, which gave rise to peace and human rights, as discussed earlier.

   

  The importance of Jeju can also be seen in its geographical features - Jeju is located at the very center of Northeast Asia. Although the Korean Peninsula is located between China and Japan in Northeast Asia, Jeju is a little away from the Korean Peninsula, which means that the island is free from the direct conflict with sovereignty the central government exercises, geographically and psychologically. In addition, South Korea's central government has granted Jeju a high degree of autonomy. South Korea has 『the Special Act on the Establishment of Jeju Special Self-Governing Province and the Development of Free International City』. Article 1 of the Act says, “The purpose of this Act is to contribute to national development by establishing the Jeju Special Self-Governing Province and guaranteeing substantial devolution to its local government in order to maximize on the geographical, historical, and cultural traits of its preceding local government, Jeju-do, with highly guaranteed autonomy based on self-regulation, accountability, creativity, and diversity and also by developing Jeju-do into a free international city through extensive administrative deregulation and application of international standards.” What is special about this is that "high autonomy" is guaranteed. Jeju has relative autonomy from the central government to some degree. This serves as the basis for establishing Jeju as an island representing all of East Asia.

  Northeast Asia now has an urgent need to establish peace and human rights. Peace is needed in Northeast Asia. The region is, in fact, at war it is just that, on the surface, no gunfire can be heard. Military exercises and missile launches take place all the time, and verbal battles are so harsh that it is even frightening to quote. The Inter-Korean relations surrounding the Korean Peninsula are at the heart of the issues. The two Koreas are going through a nuclear crisis and looking for a solution to the problem, but they still haven’t been able to build a stable relationship. Japan has contributed to worsening the situation. Japan, pursuing a nation that can wage war, has been creating conflicts with South Korea, North Korea, China and Russia. Japan is currently engaged in territorial disputes with almost all the countries in Northeast Asia, and even continues to sow the seeds of conflict in regards to rearmament and the revision of its peace constitution. China is also intensifying its arms race amid confrontation with the U.S. The arms race in Northeast Asia has already surpassed that of Europe. Under these circumstance, the risk of war will continue to rise. To prevent this, inter-Korean summit talks and North Korea-U.S. summit talks have been held, but no fruit has been born yet. For world peace, peace in Northeast Asia is also essential.

  Historically, the order in Northeast Asia - without much change - has lasted since it was established following the Sino-Japanese War. Undergoing the Sino-Japanese War, Japan became an imperial state, Korea became a colony, and China became a semi-colonial colony. The order of Northeast Asia, surrounding South Korea, China and Japan, could have led to a new peace order after Japan's defeat and Korea's liberation, but due to the Cold War, the region failed to clear up the order in the past. Despite the Cold War system being the primary reason, the failure to resolve historical issues is another reason. South Korea, China and Japan have not had the opportunity to sit together and jointly settle the issues over past wars and human rights violations committed by state power. In particular, relations between Japan and South Korea and between Japan and North Korea are still at odds since historical issues surrounding all three countries have not been addressed.

  Northeast Asia needs to establish a human rights system. The importance of human rights since World War II has been confirmed on a global level. The international human rights system is formed around the U.N. and regional human rights courts. An example of the human rights court at a regional level is the European Court of Human Rights. The court serves as the last resort to guarantee the human rights of European citizens based on the European Declaration of Human Rights. In the process of the European Union’s integration, the European human rights system played a large role. The system to guarantee human rights supported the establishment of a peace regime, and the peace regime also strengthened its human rights system.

  However, in Northeast Asia, there have been no human rights declarations or human rights courts. Although Northeast Asia has already possessed a high level of common economy, culture and history which are comparable to those of Europe, Northeast Asia is insensitive to human rights. There may have been many reasons why a human rights system has not been established in Northeast Asia, but the failure to properly settle historical issues is, too, a crucial reason. In Europe, the horrible human rights violations committed during World War II were settled through the Nuremberg war crimes trials. This experience deepened, while going through the 6.8 Revolution, and bore fruit with the European Court of Human Rights. The driving forces of the European Court of Human Rights were the settlement of the past and the development of democracy. If we reflect this process on the situation in Northeast Asia, it can be seen that the establishment of a human rights court in Northeast Asia requires addressing historical issues at the Northeast Asian level and the development of democracy in each country.

  Even though settlement of historical issues is needed, not all countries can do so at the same pace. In this case, other countries should share the way one country used to resolve its past history. Under the situation that Northeast Asia faces, one exemplary case that Japan might consider is the way the historical issues related to Jeju 4.3 were settled. It is the first case in Northeast Asia to address the past issues, and, in terms of timeline, it is not far from the colonial period, which is considered the brutal era of human rights violations, prior to World War II. In the process, the president publicly made an apology on behalf of the whole nation, which also set an example for other countries to follow. The more Northeast Asia shares the case of Jeju 4.3, the more likely peace and human rights in Northeast Asia will become a reality.

   

  Jeju has assets of peace and human rights that it has gained through the settlement of painful history regarding Jeju 4.3. These assets are universal values that are shared by Northeast Asia and the rest of the world. Based on its assets, Jeju should make an effort to have the rest of the world recognize it as an island of peace and human rights.

  It is true that Jeju embodies the values of peace and human rights, but the limit is that values are abstract. Since they are not visible, it is difficult to realize that they exist. If an abstract value becomes something that is visible, it would be better for people to recognize them. People are responsive to senses and they are even more deeply moved by what is seen or heard directly. The purpose of carving the statue of Buddha and making the cross of Jesus is to stimulate human emotions, which makes it easier and faster to deliver the teachings of religion. Like this, abstract values are better communicated when expressed as sensory objects.

  The values of peace and human rights that Jeju embodies should also be transformed into a visual sensory object. One way is to establish Jeju as a venue to realize the idea of the Northeast Asian Peace and Human Rights Community. Northeast Asia should be an economically prosperous community and at the same time a military security community. In fact, both the prosperity community and the security community have been attempted, but it did not succeed in establishing peace and human rights in Northeast Asia. The reason why they failed to establish lasting peace and human rights is due to an extremely strong ethnic sentiment and nationalist tradition. In order to weaken the two factors of failure, we must emphasize and establish a peace and human rights system.

  Jeju has historical, geographical and human assets that will become the center of the Northeast Asian Peace and Human Rights Community. Jeju has a history of most successfully resolving historical issues in Northeast Asia, is geographically located at the center of Northeast Asia, and has the values of peace and human rights in terms of humanities. The final destination that Jeju can reach is to become the base of the Peace Committee when it comes to peace, and the location of the human rights court when it comes to human rights. What is crucial is the roadmap which would serve as a driving force.

  First of all, we should share Jeju's vision on peace and human rights. This vision should be unveiled by politicians in the form of a declaration. It would be best if the head of state declared the vision, but if that is not possible, it can be done at a different level. The reason why priorities are given to politicians is that the international system that creates peace and human rights is also a matter of domestic and international politics. Just as the settlement of historical issues related to Jeju 4.3 began with the pledge made by the late president Kim Dae-jung and ended with an apology made by the late president Roh Moo-hyun, politicians' leadership plays a crucial role when it comes to the issue involving peace and human rights. After making a declaration, both the political circle and the private sector should pave the way together in the form of a forum. The job to lay the foundation should continue in the form of a forum, such as the Jeju Peace and Human Rights Forum. At this stage, the role of intellectuals is important. They should do research to introduce and spread the values of peace and human rights. In addition, they should help decide the role that each country needs to play in the process of spreading the values of peace and human rights, and further make the value of Jeju clear. If the values of peace and human rights become consolidated through such work, the declaration of peace in Northeast Asia and the declaration of human rights in Northeast Asia should be drawn. In addition, we should a peace committee and a human rights tribunal that will practice the declaration of peace and the declaration of human rights, and make it visible by constructing buildings. This process is difficult not only for China but also for Japan because they have experience of once dominating part of the world. They have no history of settling past issues and are not capable enough to guarantee the values of peace and human rights. It is the area in which Korea, with its advanced democracy and experience in establishing a democratic government, can take the lead. Among many regions in Korea, the values of peace and human rights are concentrated on Jeju.

  No one knows how much time this process will require. How many people will realize the importance of peace and human rights and implement the value will determine the future. The most important thing that matters here is what politicians and intellectuals can do. Politicians should prepare the future vision for Jeju and share it with the public. Next, the activity of intellectuals is important. There should be global intellectuals who present an outlook on peace and human rights in Northeast Asia. The activities of intellectuals such as Hannah Arendt and Primo Levi can embody the values of peace and human rights. This includes cultural figures. Next, we need outstanding peace and human rights activists. They should work not only domestically but also internationally. We should have great activists who will enlighten many people about the importance of values and actions and inspire them. Business people should be willing to invest their basic assets for peace and human rights communities. When all these forces come together, leadership in peace and human rights will be formed. Once leadership is formed, the idea of a peace and human rights community can become a reality.

  Jeju has a number of assets to realize the idea of the peace and human rights community at hand. With Jeju at the center, if we gather help from a lot of people, establishing the community will become more and more concrete. The idea of the Northeast Asia Peace and Human Rights Community would be the future vision that best shows what it is like to be Jeju. ​

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Kim In Hoe majored in law at Seoul National University and passed the National Judicial Examination in 1993. He is a member of the Judicial Reform Committee under the Supreme Court and served as a Secretary for Civil society during the Roh Moo-Hyun administration. Currently he is the Chairman of the Department of the People’s sovereignty under the Presidential Commission on Policy Planning.