than 50 employees. According to 2020 statistics of the Ministry of Employment and Labor, about 63% of work-related deaths occurred at workplaces with fewer than five workers or 50 employees.15 37. Recommendation: Expand the scope of application of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act to safeguard the lives and safety of workers and citizens effectively, and enhance the effectiveness of the law through stricter law enforcement when industrial accidents occur. 38. The NHRCK recommended improving the working conditions for indefinite-term contractors employed in the central administrative agencies in December 2020, which was not accepted by the Government. With a concern for platform workers being often excluded from labor protection, the NHRCK issued its opinion on the bill of Protection and Support for Platform Workers in November 2021, stating that platform workers should be considered employees protected under labor laws. 39. Recommendation: Reduce the gaps in the working conditions of those in different types of employment, and guarantee the labor rights of people in new forms of work including platform workers. Rights of Women 40. On 11 April 2019, the Constitutional Court ruled that penalizing a pregnant woman and a doctor who conducted abortion is unconstitutional and therefore the relevant provision in the Criminal Act should be revised accordingly by 31 December 2020.16 However, the criminal provision was not amended until the designated date, and thus it was repealed automatically. The lack of follow-up measures on legislation may undermine the right to health of women who have abortions. 41. Recommendation: Take necessary measures to provide the access to safe abortion, including insurance coverage of abortion and medication abortion, considering the Constitutional Court’s decision above. 42. The 2015 Korea-Japan ‘Comfort Women’ Agreement has not received support from the public as well as the victims of Japan’s military sexual slavery, despite the Government’s effort to resolve the ‘Comfort Women’ issue. The international community also raised concerns that the agreement lacked seeking truth and redressing victims.17 43. Recommendation: Take active measures to ensure the rights to justice and remedies for the victims of Japan’s military sexual slavery. 44. During the presidential campaign in 2021-2022, the Korean society witnessed the escalation of gender conflict, including hatred and violent expression against women, and controversy over the abolition of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family. The politicization of gender equality exacerbates hatred against women and anti-feminist sentiments among young men, deepening gender conflict.18 6