The KU School of Law Held the 2018 Northeast Asia Training Course for University Lecturers on International Humanitarian Law in Association with the International Committee of the Red Cross

In association with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the Korea University School of Law held the 2018 Northeast Asia Training Course for University Lecturers on International Humanitarian Law on August 20 (Mon) through 22 (Wed) at CJ Law Hall.

Founded in 1863, the ICRC has been running the training course for over ten years to promote research on international humanitarian law (IHL) in Northeast and Southeast Asia. The Korea University School of Law joined these efforts in 2015 when it led a 5-day training course for educators, government officials including military and police officers, and workers for the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies from a number of Northeast and Southeast Asian countries.

The 2018 Course was attended by over 30 university lecturers and researchers from four Northeast Asian countries, namely Mongolia, China, Japan and Korea. Instructors for the Course included experts in IHL from the Northeast Asian and Korean Liaison Offices of the ICRC, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Doshisha University, the Chinese University of Political Science and Law, the Korea University School of Law, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Korea and the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses.

In his welcome speech, Dean of the KU Graduate School of Legal Studies Soon-Koo Myoung said "Korea and the ICRC have cooperated since 1905, when the nation was under the rule of Emperor Gojong. I hope this Training Course will be a chance to share your knowledge and passion for learning." Director of ICRC Korea Georgios Georgantas added, "We deeply appreciate what KU Law School has done for the Training Course, which means a lot to us, for this is the first international training course we have opened in Korea in several years. I also hope that the course will help enrich your understanding of international humanitarian law for the three days to come."

The course began in earnest at 9:30 a.m., after the opening ceremony, followed by a group photograph. On August 20, the first day of the training course, ICRC Korea Director Georgios Georgantas introduced the mandate and mission of the ICRC, and Director of the International Humanitarian Law Commission of Korea Red Cross Ji-Young Yoon talked about specific operations the Korea Red Cross has engaged in in relation to IHL.

Later in the morning, Chief of the Legal Affairs Department of the ICRC Northeast Asia Zhou Wen lectured on the history, concept, and fundamental principles of IHL. In the afternoon seminar, the critical points and geographical ranges of armed conflicts in which the ICRC has intervened were discussed. Professor Ki-Gab Park at the KU School of Law, also a member of the International Law Commission of the United Nations, presented on environmental preservation activities in the aftermath of international armed conflicts.

The course focused on presentations on IHL by professors of law from China, Japan and Korea. Professor Zhu Lijiang from the Chinese University of Political Science and Law presented on the application of IHL on the individual level, and the range of IHL in need of reformation due to new forms of armed conflicts.

Professor PyoungKeun Kang from the KU School of Law and Dr. Min-Jung Baek from the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses discussed the relation and differences between international human rights law (IHRL) and IHL, reviewing to specific examples of where confusion has occurred.

On Wednesday, August 22, or the final day of the course, Director of International Legal Affairs Bureau of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Korea Jong-Jin Bae read his paper on the application of IHL on the domestic level, and Professor Gregory S. Gordon from the College of Law of the Chinese University of Hong Kong delivered a lecture on international law and international criminal courts the following afternoon. In addition, ICRC Geneva's Etienne Kuster led an online seminar on the university-level lecture methodologies for IHL.

In the closing ceremony, the participants were awarded with certificates of training. "I would like to express my gratitude to you for having successfully finished 20 seminars during this course," said Dr. Myoung to commemorate the end of the training course, "What you have shared for the three days, I hope and believe, will be of great help to each of you."