There are three categories of the award In 2006, a total of seventeen organisations and individuals received the Human Rights Award of Korea, including:[1] Nominee Lee Jeong-yi of the Busan Human Rights Center, well known for her work with prisoners of conscience, was disqualified from consideration after objections by the Ministry of Security and Public Administration.
An anonymous National Human Rights Commission employee quoted by the Hankyoreh objected to the decision and described it as politically motivated.
[6] The year 2010 saw further boycotts of the Human Rights Award, including several by student writers who had participated in the essay competition.
[9] The Human Rights Commission announced on December 10 that the Incheon League for the Abolition of Discrimination against People with Disabilities (인천장애인차별철폐연대), an organisation which had been selected for the award, would not accept it.
A spokesperson for the National League for the Abolition of Discrimination Against People with Disabilities stated that there continued to be concerns over the independence and operation of the Human Rights Committee.