ANNUAL REPORT 2015 Q. ‌Conference to examine the freedom of press in Korea and find solutions to improve the situation The Commission co-hosted a conference with the Korean Society for Media Law, Ethics, and Policy Research on November 20th to examine the freedom of press in Korea, and to discuss problems and solutions for issues related to the freedom of expression online following ICT technology development, with an emphasis on issues surrounding cyber defamation and redefining the concept of press due to the rise of new media. At the forum, an important point was made to discuss the “de-criminalization” of defamation in the future by reviewing the issues in terms of human rights and the principles of law when giving criminal penalties on defamation due to true or false statements. In addition, we had an active discussion on diverse questions and issues raised on the increasingly blurred concept of the press due to the rise of online-portal-centered news distribution and individual media. R. Attendance to the 37th ICDPPC The Commission participated in the 37th International Conference of Data Protection and Privacy Commissioners (ICDPPC) held in the Netherlands in October. At the conference, we discussed: 1. ‌ways to come up with a common, universal framework to protect personal information and privacy, at a time where distribution of data has no boundaries even though we have various (and therefore inconsistent) legislations and policies in different countries and continents; 2. ‌negative and positive changes in the context of protection of personal information in the rapidly changing environment, as well as future prospects on the issues concerned; 3. ‌e‌nsuring the rights of the information source in the use of genetic information; 4. ‌the role of organizations that protect personal information regarding the activities of national intelligence bodies to collect information; and 5. de-identification of personal information to utilize big data and the risks in re-identification. S. Spreading the culture of business management based on human rights With the increasing social influence of businesses and interests in business and human rights issues, there is a growing demand on businesses to protect and respect human rights globally. The trend is increasingly apparent as the UN set forth the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights along with the Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises from the OECD. 64 | National Human Rights Commission of Korea