Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

Concluding observations on the combined seventeenth to nineteenth periodic reports of the Republic of Korea *

1.The Committee considered the combined seventeenth to nineteenth periodic reports of the Republic of Korea (CERD/C/KOR/17-19), submitted in one document, at its 2691st and 2692nd meetings (see CERD/C/SR.2691 and 2692), held on 3 and 4 December 2018. At its 2703rd and 2704th meetings, held on 11 and 12 December 2018, it adopted the present concluding observations.

A.Introduction

2.The Committee welcomes the submission of the seventeenth to nineteenth periodic reports of the State party. The Committee expresses its appreciation for the frank and constructive dialogue with the State party’s high-level delegation. It thanks the delegation for the answers provided during the consideration of the State party’s report in response to the Committee’s questions and for the additional written information submitted after the dialogue. In addition, the Committee welcomed the participation of representatives of the national human rights institution and vibrant and dynamic civil society organizations.

B.Positive aspects

3.The Committee welcomes a number of positive developments and activities undertaken by the State party to fight racial discrimination and promote diversity, including:

(a)The adoption of the amendment to the Criminal Code that establishes criminal penalties for the offence of human trafficking, on 5 April 2013;

(b)The adoption of the Refugee Act, on 1 July 2013;

(c)The adoption of the third Basic Plan for Immigration Policy, on 12 February 2018;

(d)The adoption of the third Basic Plan for Multicultural Family Policy, on 12 February 2018;

(e)The adoption of the third National Action Plan for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, on 7 August 2018.

4.The Committee notes with satisfaction the ratification by the State party of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, on 5 November 2015.

C.Concerns and recommendations

Legislation and definition of racial discrimination

5.The Committee regrets that once again the State party has failed to adopt comprehensive legislation that prohibits and defines racial discrimination, in spite of the Committee’s previous recommendations (CERD/C/KOR/CO/15-16, paras. 6–7). The Committee emphasizes that article 11 (1) of the Constitution along with other existing laws addressing certain aspects of discrimination are not sufficient substitutes for the full definitions and descriptions of prohibited grounds of discrimination in the Convention. Furthermore, it is concerned about the absence of a provision in the Criminal Code establishing racist motives as aggravating circumstances leading to enhanced penalties (arts. 1, 2 and 4).

6. The Committee reiterates its recommendation that the State party expedite the adoption of a comprehensive law that defines and prohibits direct and indirect racial discrimination on all prohibited grounds, in line with article 1 of the Convention. It also reiterates its recommendation ( ibid., para. 8) that the State party amend its Criminal Code to consider racist motivations as aggravating circumstances with respect to criminal offences, in line with article 4 of the Convention. The Committee further recommends that the State party set up a mechanism to collect statistics on racially motivated crimes, disaggregated by race, colour, ethnicity, national origin, religion, immigration status, gender and other indicators that would identify intersecting forms of discrimination.

Racist hate speech

7.The Committee is concerned about the current climate of hate and mistrust towards migrants and refugees in the State party. It is also concerned about the rise of hate speech, incitement to racial hatred and the propagation of ideas of racial superiority and about racist stereotypes expressed in the media, including on the Internet and social media, which appear to have been particularly exacerbated by the arrival of around 500 Yemeni refugees on Jeju Island in May 2018. The Committee is further concerned about the use of derogatory terms such as “illegal immigrants” used in official documents to refer to migrants residing in the State party without a valid permit, noting that such terms exacerbate negative perceptions of and discrimination towards these migrants (arts. 2, 4 and 7).

8. In the light of its general recommendation No. 35 (2013) on combating racist hate speech, the Committee recommends that the State party:

(a) Take measures to firmly combat hate speech and adopt a strategy to :