3. Major Opinions Presented4) A. Expressing Opposition to the Abolition of the Chungnam Human Rights Ordinance We expressed grave concern about the bill to abolish the Chungnam Human Rights Ordinance tabled on January 25 and our opposition to the Governor of Chungcheongnam-do and the Chairperson of the Chungcheongnam-do Council. We judged that the abolition of the ordinance represents the local government's abandonment for all people, including social minorities such as women, persons with disabilities, children, seniors, and migrant workers. We also concluded that the decision to abolish the ordinance based solely on public opinion without consideration for the objectives and values of the ordinance, the grounds for the contention to abolish the ordinance, and the public interest likely to be compromised due to its abolition lacked rationality and legitimacy and that the bill to abolish the ordinance cannot be viewed to have undergone extensive consultation despite its significant impact on the rights and duties of Chungcheongnam-do residents. The ordinance was enacted in 2012 as the legal grounds for the responsibilities of the governor and the local government's support for the promotion of the human rights of local residents. We judged that no justifiable reason to stop the governor's effort to promote human rights was identified and that it is critical to aggressively push ahead with human rights promotional activities when taking into consideration the province's demographics with the rural population accounting for 14.1% of the total population and the population of seniors aged 65 or older accounting for 16%. Even after presenting our opinion followed by the release of two statements from the Chairperson and the organization of special seminars, the local government went ahead with the abolition of the ordinance. It was later re-enacted in September 2018 after the local election. 4) Refer to the list of opinions presented in Appendices. National Human Rights Commission of Korea Annual Report 2018 49 Part 2 | Commission's Major Activities of its duty to protect human rights and a retrogression of the human rights promotion system