South Korea’s nominated human rights chief sparks uproar over anti-LGBTQ stance

A former judge nominated to lead South Korea’s human rights body has sparked outrage with his comments against the LGBTQ community and the theory of evolution, with observers citing him as proof of the country’s flawed system for official appointments.

Ahn Chang-ho, 67, is under scrutiny for his statements in parliament suggesting that homosexuality is a tool used by communists to incite revolution.

Ahn, the proposed chairman of the National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRC), is under fire from lawmakers and human rights advocates for his stance against a comprehensive anti-discrimination bill being drafted by opposition parties.

The legislation aims to ban discrimination based on attributes such as sexual orientation, race, gender, age, religion and disability.

During a parliamentary nomination hearing on Tuesday, Ahn, also a former public security prosecutor, expressed concerns that the proposed law could be “exploited” by Marxists to suppress criticism of ideologies that oppose universal human values.