Key Activities
H. Recommendation of the 2nd Guidelines on the Human Rights of
Migrants
The Commission crafted the 2nd Guidelines on the Human Rights of Migrants to help the
government set the directions for migrant policies from a human rights perspective. On August 19,
it recommended the Office for Government Policy Coordination, Ministry of Justice, and 30 other
relevant ministries to reflect the top ten guidelines and 110 key tasks in their relevant policies.
The migrant population in Korea, which surpassed the one million mark in 2007, has continued
to rise, reaching 2,481,000 in October 2019. Over time, the government has made efforts on
multiple fronts, establishing national plans and legislation in support of migrant policies and
installing migrant counseling and support organizations nationwide. These efforts, however, have
fallen short of effective protection and promotion of migrant rights, as indicated by the petitions
filed with the Commission, surveys of migrant human rights conditions, and counseling with
migrant organizations.
I. Institutional Improvement Recommendation for the Right of the
Visually Impaired to Access Information on Online Shopping Malls
The Commission investigated petitions regarding lack of accessibility to websites and mobile
applications for the visually impaired. Based on the findings, it recommended ten petitioned
Internet shopping sites to take corrective actions. On December 19, it also recommended the
Minister of Health and Welfare to revise the Enforcement Decree of the Anti-Discrimination
against and Remedies for Persons with Disabilities Act as it fails to specify a timeline for mobile
applications to fulfill accessibility obligation.
Paragraph 1 of Article 21 of the Anti-Discrimination against and Remedies for Persons
with Disabilities Act provides for equitable provision of convenience in information and
communications, and subparagraph 1, paragraph 2 of Article 14 of the related Enforcement Decree
states that anyone, regardless of physical or technical conditions, should be able to utilize services
wanted on websites. However, the provision of the Enforcement Decree only states accessibility to
“websites,” and as such, fails to properly reflect the latest changes in the mobile environment.
Recently, users are increasingly relying on mobile devices to access websites. Website operators,
including those offering online shopping services, enable users to access their website through
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