National Human Rights Commission of Korea Annual Report 2020
B. Major Activities
■ Policy recommendations based on findings of human rights surveys of athletes
Based on the findings of the human rights surveys conducted in 2019, the special task force
formulated and recommended a proposal to improve the human rights conditions of student
athletes at every school level, athletes in professional sports teams, and judo athletes. First,
in June 2020, using the findings of a 2019 survey of all student athletes, it recommended the
Ministry of Education, Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism, municipal and provincial offices
of education, and sports associations to develop plans to better safeguard the rights of student
athletes, prevent human rights violations, and strengthen the system to deal with violence and
sexual violence against student athletes.
Based on the results of a 2019 factual survey of professional athletes, the Commission in
June made recommendations to the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism, Ministry of
Gender Equality and Family, and local governments to develop policy to protect the rights of
professional athletes, develop implementation plans, establish policy to protect motherhood in
sports, strengthen oversight of employment contracts and develop a standard contract, and abolish
controlled training camps and make welfare-friendly accommodation facilities available.
Based on the results of a 2019 survey of all judo athletes, the Commission in December made
recommendations to the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism, relevant judo centers and
associations to develop and organize tailored human rights training programs, and develop training
guidelines to discourage improper training practices such as training athletes until they pass out.
■ In-depth on-site inspections in ten major sporting events
Based on analysis of the 2019 survey of all students at every level of school, the Commission
had in-depth interviews with student athletes, coaches, parents, sports associations’ staff, school
staff, and office of education staff in relation to ten sporting events—gymnastics, modern
pentathlon, judo, taekwondo, swimming, tennis, baseball, basketball, football, and cycling—
to get to the heart of issues that were not revealed during quantitative surveys. Based on the
findings, it plans to report the issues and present ways to address them, and make legal and
policy recommendations.
62