“He was awarded the Human Rights Stepping Stone Award for a ruling that greatly expanded the rights of the disabled, and (omission) is a respectable judge who has taken the lead in promoting the human rights of the socially underprivileged.”
This is the introduction that President Kim Dae-gi, chief of staff, announced on the morning of the 22nd when he announced the nomination of Lee Gyun-yong as the new chief justice of the Supreme Court (currently chief judge of the Seoul High Court). (Related article: Chief Justice Lee Gyun-yong… President’s Office “Leading the Human Rights of the Vulnerable” https://omn.kr/25ax4 ) In
2016, when he was a chief judge of the Seoul High Court, “tic disorder was defined as a type of disability under the Welfare Act for Persons with Disabilities” The disposition of the head of Yangpyeong County, who refused to register as a disabled person because it did not, violates the principle of equality in Article 11 of the Constitution.” This ruling was selected as a stepping stone ruling on the human rights of persons with disabilities by the Institute of Rights for the Disabled in 2017.
However, in 2007, he made a first trial ruling that ignored the voices of female members of the Seoul Christian Youth Association (YMCA), who argued that not recognizing women as members of the general assembly was a violation of the principle of equality under Article 11 of the Constitution. At the time, the YMCA board of directors was selected as a stumbling block for gender equality by the Korean Federation of Women’s Organizations, and it was a ruling that defended the gender equality stumbling block group. “Promoting the rights of the socially underprivileged” runs counter to evaluation.
This ruling was overturned in the appeals court two years later.
Mention only the judgment on the human rights of persons with disabilities as a stepping stone, silence on the judgment on the obstacle to gender equality
At the 100th regular general meeting of the Seoul YMCA in 2003, there was a demand for female members to be accepted as general members who exercise voting rights at the general meeting. For 100 years since its establishment in 1903, not a single female member has been selected as a general member. At this time, the resolution of the 100th General Assembly of the Seoul YMCA, where women and men are together, was adopted to address gender discrimination.
However, the bill to recognize women as general members was not passed at several general meetings thereafter. Corrective recommendations by the National Human Rights Commission of Korea were also of no avail. In the end, in 2005, Seoul YMCA female members and some male members filed a lawsuit claiming compensation for damages, claiming that it was illegal for Seoul YMCA to not accept women as general members. It was the logic that it violated Article 11 of the Constitution, which prohibited discrimination based on gender.
The presiding judge of the first trial court of the Seoul Central District Court in charge of this case was Lee Kyun-yong, a candidate for Chief Justice안전놀이터 (then the chief judge).
In 2007, the court dismissed the plaintiff’s claim. Although depriving female members of their voting rights at the general meeting was not permitted, it was judged that it was not a violation of Article 11 of the Constitution. The reason was that Article 11 of the Constitution could not be directly applied to internal relationships between private individuals.
The plaintiff appealed, and the judgment was overturned in the second trial. The appeals court of the Seoul High Court, which sided with the female members in 2009, said:
Denying or excluding female members from general membership constitutes gender-discriminatory treatment. Structural and continuous sex discriminatory treatment is an unacceptable illegal act in light of the overall legal order, such as the principle of equality stipulated in Article 11 of the Constitution, and it is reasonable to consider that it constitutes an illegal act under Article 750 of the Civil Act.
Thanks to this ruling, women were also recognized as general members at the 107th Seoul YMCA regular general meeting in 2010.
Seoul YMCA appealed against the decision of the appeals court, but in 2011, the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal and confirmed the decision of the appeals court. The Supreme Court said, “Article 11 of the Constitution (omitted) guarantees equal rights to all citizens. Therefore, within the social community, including private organizations, individuals are not subjected to unreasonable discrimination based on gender and can enjoy various social and economic opportunities according to their wishes and knowledge. Engaging in activities is an essential part of the realization of that personality right.”
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