National Human Rights Commission of the Republic of Korea The international community, notably the UN and the OECD, have put in their best efforts to spread their Guiding Principles and Guidelines over the business enterprises of the world. They try to bring the importance of human rights before the footlights by doing such activities as hosting forums, best practice meetings, working group meetings, etc. Respect of human rights has become, therefore, an avoidable issue of not only multinational enterprises but domestic business enterprises. It is regrettable, however, that Korean businesses have a low level of awareness of and interest in business and human rights. They regard donations and volunteer activities as the synonym for business and human rights. For this reason, the NHRCK made a variety of efforts in 2013 to enhance the awareness of business and human rights, and to spread the notion to the whole business firms for their action. The Commission published a Report on Business and Human Rights, which contains national policy proposals, to promote the awareness of business and human rights among business enterprises and to encourage voluntary respect for human rights. The Commission also hosted three meetings of the Forum on Business and Human Rights in May, July and November, respectively. The Forum met to make the issue of business and human rights widely known, to spread the respect of human rights by business, and to enhance the consciousness of respecting human rights. The Commission developed the Guidelines on Human Rights Friendly Management and Checklists, and distributed them to public and private Chapter 1. Improvement of Laws and Regulations, Institution, Policies, and Practices ▪▪▪ 89