Alternative Service. In 2022, the Government is set to make a pre-announcement of legislation bill to ensure birth registration to all children born in the territory of the ROK regardless of the nationality of their parents. In addition, the Government amended three labor laws - the Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act, the Act on the Establishment and Operation of Public Officials’ Unions, and the Act on the Establishment and Operation of Teachers’ Unions in the process of ratifying the ILO Convention on freedom of association. Consequently, the scope of public officials who can join labor unions has been extended to public officials in Class V or higher. The amendments have also allowed fire officers and retired public officials to enter unions. 5. On 1 July 2022, Human Rights Protector for Military was established within the National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) in order to enhance the protection of human rights and the access to remedies for human rights violations in the military.1 II. Issues and Recommendations Equality and Non-discrimination 6. The NHRCK proposed a draft of Equality Act to the National Assembly in June 2020 for prompt legislation, 14 years after its first recommendation to the then Prime Minister in 2006 calling for the enactment of anti-discrimination legislation.2 Four anti-discrimination bills are currently pending at the National Assembly. The public hearing to discuss the bills was held on 25 May 2022. However, the legislation of the Act is kept delayed. 7. Recommendation: Initiate immediately the legislative process to enact the Equality Act prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity and other grounds in all spheres of life. Civil and Political Rights 8. Although Korea has de facto abolished death penalty, the Government persistently views that the abolition of capital punishment would require the consideration of many factors and therefore it is difficult to establish a timeline for abolition.3 9. Recommendation: Consider abolishing the capital punishment and introducing alternatives to death penalty, and ratify the Optional Protocol to the ICCPR on the abolition of death penalty. 10. The NHRCK conducted on-site and ex-officio investigations on overcrowding4 in correctional facilities and made recommendations5 for improvement more than 10 times in the past. However, the overcrowding still persists. The NHRCK inquiry found that personal living space in correctional facilities is so small that inmates must be careful not to bump into each 2