President Lee Myung-bak approved the appointment of the current chief of the National Human Rights Commission for another term despite opposition allegations of a series of ethical lapses against him, the presidential spokesman said Monday.

In June, Lee named Hyun Byung-chul for another three-year term at the helm of the commission, but the nomination has since been dogged by opposition accusations that he is unfit for the job as his ethical standards are questionable.

The opposition raised allegations of plagiarism, real estate speculation, draft dodging by his son and other ethical lapses against him. Hyun has rejected most of the accusations as unfounded and claimed that plagiarism criteria were different in the past.

Despite the allegations, officials at the presidential office have said that it is unlikely for the top office to withdraw Hyun’s nomination. And on Monday, Lee approved his appointment, presidential spokesman Park Jeong-ha said.

“It took time (before the appointment) as we had to check the issues raised,” Park said. “There were parts that were different from the truth, and I understand the president approved the nomination based on the judgment that the suspicions raised won’t have any big effect on him carrying out his duties.” 

(Yonhap News)