National Human Rights Commission of the Republic of Korea the existing subjects of investigation. Complaints of human rights violations and discriminatory acts filed with the NHRCK have been continuously on the rise since its creation in 2001. Furthermore, our society has expectations that the NHRCK will play an active role in finding out solutions to the complex or institutional problems which may not be resolved as an individual case of complaint due to the limitations of the related laws. It can be said, therefore, that people's interest in and needs for the promotion of human rights are increasing. In particular, local/provincial governments and autonomous bodies have established human rights charters and human rights ordinances one after another. This asked the NHRCK to make more efforts to promote cooperation with and support for them. In addition, the institutional and legal environment for human rights education has changed. For example, the necessity of human rights education was explicitly stipulated by the Child Welfare Act, the Framework Act on Juveniles, and the Social Welfare Services Act all of which were revised in 2012. The role of the NHRCK should be accordingly strengthened as the human rights educational institution for the prevention of human rights violations. The international human rights community also expressed higher expectations on the role of the NHRCK. The Republic of Korea began to actively participated in international human rights discussions as it has been elected to the UN Human Rights Council for its third term (2013~2015) since its inception in 2006. In response, the NHRCK began to take on a more active role on the international scene as is Introduction ▪▪▪ 5