The Report on Human Rights Situation in the Republic of Korea This report organized and assessed some of the major issues within our society during 2021 from the human rights perspective. We looked at the issues related to the fundamental freedom of the people, isolation and discrimination faced by social minorities, human rights violations at the workplaces, important human rights topics for the future, and North Korean human rights issues. Also, we looked at the difficulties faced by our society due to COVID-19, from the human rights perspective. By assessing the human rights situation of Korea and inspecting the newly raised human rights problems, we tried to present the most suitable direction of our human rights for the future. There may be issues that were not fully dealt with in this report, and some areas may be assessed differently from the human rights perspective. We know that comprehensively describing and assessing a society’ human rights issues is a very difficult and cautious task. However, we believe that trying to look at the major issues through the perspective of human rights and providing a direction for the future is extremely important and necessary. I would like to thank all the people who helped in publishing this report. I hope this report will contribute in protecting and improving human rights in our society. The Commission will remain committed to serving as the supporter of human rights and in creating a decent world for the people to live happily. June 2022 Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission of Korea Song, Doo-hwan