2. Migrants and Refugees A. Human Rights Status 2022 As restrictions from COVID-19 were eased, the number of foreigners residing at the end of Dec. 2022 was about 2.2 million, up from about 1.9 million at the end of the previous year.206) In the future, it is expected that the proportion of foreigners residing in Korea will continue to rise due to factors such as changes in the demographic structure. Migrants are a major member of Korean society, and they have the right not to be discriminated against unreasonably pursuant to relevant laws, including the Constitution, the National Human Rights Commission of Korea Act, the Framework Act on Treatment of Foreigners Residing in the Republic of Korea, and the Act on the Employment of Foreign Workers. However, hatred and discrimination against migrants still remain in Korean society, and the migrants' human rights problems may intensify as the number and diversity of migrants increase in the future. The Ministry of Justice established the “Immigration and Immigration Management System Improvement Implementation Team” as a temporary organization in 2022 pursuant to the policy that a new organization dedicated to immigration (tentatively named: Immigration Office) was needed to serve as a control tower for the immigration policy.207) Moreover, the government has an obligation to protect refugees as Korea is a country that has joined the Convention on the Status of Refugees and the Convention on the Status of Stateless Persons and enacted the Refugee Act. However, the low refugee acceptance rate, various problems in the refugee review process, and the insufficiency of the system for requesting and reviewing stateless people to grant nationality are still not improved as of 2022, and the civil groups continues to criticize to guarantee the right to apply for asylum and prepare specific policies for refugee settlement continues. On the other hand, Korea ratified the Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination in 1978 and has been preparing and submitting reports on legislative, judicial and administrative measures for the implementation of the Convention since 1980 pursuant 206) Ministry of Justice, Monthly Report of Immigration Policy Statistics – Dec. 2022, Jan. 19, 2023. 207) Donga Ilbo, MOJ’s first priority is establishing an organization to prepare Immigration Office, Nov. 8, 2022. 87