for groups with higher vulnerability to the harmful effects of fine dust pollution. We also officially raised the issue of human rights violations committed in the past at a state-run juvenile reformatory institute known as Seongam Reformatory through our initiative to enact a special law. We were able to clearly affirm Korea's role as a member of the international community for the protection of the human rights of refugees in response to the social conflict that arose over opposition to asylum-seekers who came to Jeju Island. The year 2018 was significant in that a female human rights activist, rather than a legal expert, was inaugurated as Commission Chairperson for the first time in our history, helping to realize substantive improvements in our relations with human rights and civil society organizations. In particular, we publicly recognized such organizations as equal partners in forming the Human Rights Advocates' Coalition at the Human Rights Advocates' Conference held in December 2018. We successfully established a human rights-upholding network between the Commission and the human rights institutions of local governments through close discussions on how to capitalize on our partnerships. In this context, 2018 can be viewed as a landmark year in our achievement of qualitative progress in the human rights field in terms of solidarity and cooperation. However, the Annual Report 2018 also serves as a scathing self-reflection for compromising our own independent status as evidenced by the publicized results of investigations on the blacklist of the Commission staff created from 2008 to 2010 and on the death of a disability rights activist in 2010. In this sense, it is an honest compilation of our persistent and bold footsteps taken throughout a year of turbulence. With the Commission's 20th anniversary in 2021 just around the corner, we will continue to strive to earn the trust of all members of society as a national institution dedicated to protecting human rights and faithfully serve our purpose of "the last bastion of human rights" by learning from our past and taking innovative steps towards the future. Thank you. Choi Young-ae Chairperson National Human Rights Commission of Korea