The Korean Bar Association and the nonprofit Human Asia will hold a conference on the release of corporate human rights due diligence evaluation results and tasks.
According to the Korean Bar Association, the conference will be held at 2 p.m. on the 21st at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Seoul. The National Human Rights Commission, the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the UN Global Compact Korea will participate.
At this conference, the results of a human rights due diligence evaluation conducted on major domestic corporations are scheduled to be released. The Korean Bar Association said it was prepared to assess the level of human rights management at Korean corporations and to seek future tasks.
According to the Korean Bar Association, corporations and human rights have recently emerged as a key issue in global supply chains and investment markets. The European Union (EU), through the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), has defined corporate human rights due diligence as a legal obligation. Global investors and markets also regard the level of corporate human rights risk management as an important evaluation factor. Domestic corporations likewise face demands to establish human rights due diligence systems and embed them in management.
Human Asia previously reported the 2024 evaluation results for 12 domestic corporations. The Korean Bar Association also systematically analyzed the status and tasks of human rights due diligence at 12 corporations, related laws and regulations, and disputes through the 2025 Business and Human Rights Report. This time, it said the scope was expanded by one step to conduct an evaluation of 50 major domestic corporations, including 10 public corporations.
The Korean Bar Association explained that, through this conference, the level of human rights due diligence will be analyzed by corporation and by industry, strengths and weaknesses will be identified, and concrete methodologies for improvement will be presented comprehensively.
Korean Bar Association President Kim Jeong-uk said, "The public release of these evaluation results will go beyond simple comparison and serve as an opportunity to spur substantive improvements in corporations' human rights management and the establishment of management systems that meet international standards."