45. Recommendation: Implement effective policies to eradicate hatred and discrimination
against women and to tackle gender conflict.
Rights of Migrants
46. The Constitutional Court ruled that Article 25(1) of the Act on the Employment of Foreign
Workers19 restricting the grounds for migrant workers to change workplaces is not in violation of
the Constitution in December 2021. It is concerned that this decision may exacerbate foreign
workers’ dependency on employers and weaken their bargaining power.20 On the other hand,
detainees in immigration detention centers during deportation process are occasionally at risk of
human rights abuses such as ill treatment and solitary confinement.21
47. Recommendation: Reduce excessive restrictions for migrant workers to change workplaces,
and take necessary measures to prevent human rights violation against detainees in immigration
detention facilities.
48. Korea ratified the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees in 1992 and enforced the
Refugee Act since 2013. Among 68,761 asylum-seekers from 1994 to April 2020, only 1,052
received refugee status, indicating very low acceptance rate of 1.5%.22 Furthermore, there is no
appeal process for those rejected refugee status.
49. Recommendation: Increase the fairness of refugee status determination to guarantee the
rights of refugees set forth in the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and the Refugee
Act, and establish the appeal and remedial procedures in an independent body for those rejected
refugee status.
Rights of Children
50. On 23 December 2021, the Constitutional Court ruled that Article 30(6) of the Act on Special
Cases Concerning the Punishment of Sexual Crimes, which prescribes that a video recording of a
statement made by a sexual crime victim under the age of 19 during an investigative interview
process may be admitted as evidence, is unconstitutional, viewing that the current law violates the
defendant’s right to a fair trial.24 It is concerned that victimization and further damage can be
inflicted on the under-aged victim during testifying in court, and criminal reporting of sexual
violence by juvenile victims can be reduced.
51. Recommendation: Take additional measures to prevent victimization of and further damage
to under-aged sexual crime victims, in response to the Constitutional Court’s decision above.
Business and Human Rights
52. The Government has not developed any initiatives to integrate the UN Guiding Principles in
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