abusesaffiliationarrow-downarrow-leftarrow-rightarrow-upattack-typeburgerchevron-downchevron-leftchevron-rightchevron-upClock iconclosedeletedevelopment-povertydiscriminationdollardownloademailenvironmentexternal-linkfacebookfiltergenderglobegroupshealthC4067174-3DD9-4B9E-AD64-284FDAAE6338@1xinformation-outlineinformationinstagraminvestment-trade-globalisationissueslabourlanguagesShapeCombined Shapeline, chart, up, arrow, graphLinkedInlocationmap-pinminusnewsorganisationotheroverviewpluspreviewArtboard 185profilerefreshIconnewssearchsecurityPathStock downStock steadyStock uptagticktooltiptwitteruniversalityweb

The content is also available in the following languages: 한국어

Article

1 Sep 2023

Author:
Korean Transnational Corporations Watch (KTNC Watch)

S. Korea: Lawmakers & CSOs propose first Mandatory Human Rights and Environmental Due Diligence (mHREDD) bill in Asia

"[Press Release] South Korean Lawmakers Propose an Asia-first Bill on Mandatory Human Rights and Environmental Due Diligence," 1 Sept 2023

Representative Jung Taeho (Democratic Party of Korea, Gwanak-eul, Seoul) introduced the Act on Human Rights and Environmental Protection for Sustainable Business Management on September 1 to prevent and address human rights and environmental violations by business enterprises in their global supply chains. Representative Jung and a network of civil society organizations(Korean Transnational Corporations Watch*) co-hosted a press conference on the same day to urge the National Assembly and the Korean Government to enact the bill as soon as possible.

[...] The Act on Human Rights and Environmental Protection for Sustainable Business Management covers the core elements of corporate human rights and environmental due diligence introduced in the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) and OECD Guidelines, including making and internalizing commitment to respect human rights and the environment, implementing human rights and environmental impact assessments, monitoring the effect of the measures taken, disclosing relevant information, and operating grievance mechanisms.

For the first time in Korea, the bill prescribes corporate responsibility to respect human rights and the environment, and stipulates the corporate duty to conduct human rights and environmental due diligence. The scope of this duty is limited to companies with more than 500 employees or more than 200 billion KRW in revenue. Small and medium-sized enterprises are excluded, but the scope may be expanded by presidential decree in the future, considering domestic and international situations.

[...]

Privacy information

This site uses cookies and other web storage technologies. You can set your privacy choices below. Changes will take effect immediately.

For more information on our use of web storage, please refer to our Data Usage and Cookies Policy

Strictly necessary storage

ON
OFF

Necessary storage enables core site functionality. This site cannot function without it, so it can only be disabled by changing settings in your browser.

Analytics cookie

ON
OFF

When you access our website we use Google Analytics to collect information on your visit. Accepting this cookie will allow us to understand more details about your journey, and improve how we surface information. All analytics information is anonymous and we do not use it to identify you. Google provides a Google Analytics opt-out add on for all popular browsers.

Promotional cookies

ON
OFF

We share news and updates on business and human rights through third party platforms, including social media and search engines. These cookies help us to understand the performance of these promotions.

Your privacy choices for this site

This site uses cookies and other web storage technologies to enhance your experience beyond necessary core functionality.