The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) said on the 13th it recommended that the Minister of the Ministry of Health and Welfare improve related systems so human rights can be better considered when the National Pension Fund makes investments.
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) recommended introducing indicators that can assess human rights risk prevention and management systems—such as whether human rights due diligence is carried out—into the National Pension Fund's ESG (environmental, social and governance) evaluations of corporations, and expanding the weight of human rights factors.
It also recommended adding "human rights-related risk and management" as a priority control item when the National Pension Fund exercises shareholder rights, and expanding the National Pension Service (NPS) workforce and budget so it can engage more proactively in dialogue with corporations. In particular, it recommended that if improvements are not made even after dialogue with corporations, the matter should be linked to investment restrictions.
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) viewed that while the qualifications for members of the expert committee that advises the National Pension Fund Management Committee are limited to finance, economy, asset management, law and pension systems, regulations need to be revised so that human rights and environmental experts can also be included in the investment decision-making structure.
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) said, "We will review whether human rights elements are substantively reflected in the National Pension Fund's responsible investment policy and will cooperate with related institutions."