The public discourse of high-ranking officials shapes societal norms and exerts a profound influence on the public. Recently, hate speech by high-level figures has emerged as a grave threat, undermining democratic values and exacerbating social polarization. This forum seeks to examine international standards that promote accountability and dignity of high-ranking officials. The goal of the forum is to establish a firm legal and ethical foundation for regulating such speech, while maintaining the freedom of expression of the public as a principle.
To this end, we have invited the former UN Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression, David Kaye, alongside international legal experts and civil society activists from Southeast Asia. The former UNSR for Freedom of Expression will underscore that regulating hate speech by public officials, far from curtailing free speech, is an essential prerequisite for ensuring the inclusive democratic participation of all citizens. Furthermore, Judit Bayer draws European frameworks that strictly prohibit incitement to discrimination and violence. That will aim to affirm that Korea’s proposed legislative reforms align with global human rights benchmarks. By sharing insights from Grace Salonga, a Southeast Asian activist and attorney defending journalists who are struggling with red tagging by the governments, we hope that Korea’s legislative efforts will be a vital milestone for human rights solidarity and democratic progress across Asia.
- Date & Time: May 26, 2026(Tue) 10:30 - 13:00
- Venue: National Human Rights Commission of Korea
- Host: Open Net, Joint Action Group for Responding to Hate Speech by High-Ranking Officials, National Human Rights Commission of Korea Discrimination Remedy Bureau
- Moderation: Kyoungmi (Kimmy) Oh (Researcher, Open Net)
- Time Table:
- 10:00 - 10:30: Registration
- 10:30 - 10:40: Opening Remarks (Sunghun Lee, ROK Ambassador for Human Rights, Peace, and Democracy)
- 10:40 - 11:00: Keynote Speech (David Kaye, former UNSR for Freedom of Expression)
- 11:00 - 11:20: Presentation 1 | The Reality of Hate Speech by High-Ranking Officials and Proposed Amendments for Regulation (Hyein Cho, Attorney, Korean Lawyers for Public Interest and Human Rights)
- 11:20 - 11:40: Presentation 2 | High-impact hate speech by persons of authority: A lower threshold needed? (Judit Bayer, Associate Professor, Budapest University of Economy and Business)
- 11:40 - 12:00: Presentation 3 | Hate Speech of High-Ranking Officials in the Philippines and the Necessity of Legislative Reform (Grace Salonga, Executive Director, Movement Against Disinformation)
- 12:00 - 12:10: Break
- 12:10 - 13:00: Plenary Discussion
- Chairperson: Sunghun Lee (ROK Ambassador for Human Rights, Peace, and Democracy)
- Discussant: Haemi Kim (Legislative Research Officer, National Assembly Research Service), Zoonil Yi (Professor, Korea University), Yihyun Ryu (Research Fellow, The Institute for Democracy)
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