On 13 June 2025, Asia’s first mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence bill was reintroduced in South Korea’s National Assembly. The Bill developed by Korean civil society organisations, in particular KTNC Watch, was initially introduced to Parliament in September 2023 but collapsed at the end of the Parliament term. After undergoing revision and review, the Legislative Bill for the Act on the Protection of Human Rights and the Environment for Sustainable Business Management (in English), was reintroduced last year.
Ji Yoon Kang, Staff Attorney at GongGam Human Rights Law Foundation and a member of KTNC Watch, who has been directly involved in the drafting process of the Bill and its reintroduction to Parliament, provide us insights about recent legal developments and the general corporate accountability context in South Korea.
Asia’s First Mandatory Human Rights and Environmental Due Diligence Bill
What role did KTNC Watch play in the drafting process of the first version of the Bill? With which other partners did you work with, and how did you convince MP Jung Tae-ho from the Democratic Party, Gwanak-eul, Seoul, to introduce the Bill in 2023 to Parliament?
“KTNC Watch began drafting the initial version of the bill around 2021, which was before I joined KTNC Watch. According to colleagues, they were motivated by similar movements toward binding laws in other jurisdictions, especially in Europe. They were also motivated by the lack of ways to hold accountable Korean companies that continued to collaborate with the Tatmadaw (Myanmar junta) after the coup.
After completing the initial draft, we contacted a number of MPs who may be willing to table the bill in the National Assembly. We came in contact with Rep. Jung Tae-ho’s office somewhat by chance, but he showed genuine interest and support for the bill. We went through several rounds of discussions with his office on the text and made some revisions. In September 2023, the bill was introduced with the support of 15 MPs led by Rep. Jung.”
As previously mentioned, after the Bill collapsed and between its reintroduction last year, the Bill underwent revision and review. What changes were made to the text?
“Rep. Jung was re-elected to the current (22nd) National Assembly in 2024 and was willing to re-introduce the bill. KTNC Watch worked with his office to review and update the bill for re-introduction. We incorporated suggestions from, inter alia, the report of the Ministry of Government Legislation expert adviser from November 2023 and discussion at the National Assembly in August 2024.
Key changes include strengthened provisions on stakeholder engagement and the right to information (arts. 15-16). The updated bill stipulates that companies may not unfairly shift costs related to human rights and environmental due diligence to their suppliers (art. 11(5)). SMEs must also conduct human rights and environmental due diligence if their activities may be linked to child labour or crimes under international law, or if their activities take place in conflict or high-risk areas designated by the supervisory authority (art. 5(2)).”
Reintroduction of the Bill
Key elements of the Legislative Bill for the Act on the Protection of Human Rights and the Environment for Sustainable Business Management reintroduced in June 2025
The Bill was reintroduced last year by MP Jung Tae-ho and 13 other MPs, was there a specific momentum at that time?
“The period leading to the re-introduction of the bill was marked by social upheaval in Korea. In December 2024, the former president declared martial law and sent armed forces to the National Assembly. People took to the street in peaceful protest, called the “revolution of light” due to their use of multicolored light sticks. Social movements played a key role in these protests and took the opportunity to demand various social reforms.
KTNC Watch members also took part in these efforts and “legislation of supply chain human rights due diligence law” was included in the list of demands to the government. In April 2025, the former president was impeached, and a snap election was held. The bill was re-introduced soon after the new administration was inaugurated in June 2025.”
It’s been a year since the reintroduction, has there been any development since then?
“Soon after introduction, the bill was referred to the competent standing committee, which is the Strategy and Finance Committee. In September 2025, the bill was presented in the Committee by the Ministry of Government Legislation expert advisor. The bill is currently pending in the Committee.”
A Second Bill Submitted to Parliament
Last November 2025, MP Park Hong-bae also from the Democratic Party and 14 other MPs introduced a second bill (in Korean) on human rights and environmental due diligence. Why? Was KTNC-Watch and its partners consulted during the drafting process? How do you view the fact of having now two bills?
“Rep. Park is a former trade unionist from one of the two main trade union confederations in South Korea and labour activist. He was actually one of the 13 MPs who reintroduced the bill led by Rep. Jung. KTNC Watch was not consulted during the drafting process of the second bill. However, it’s a positive sign that more lawmakers are becoming interested in mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence. We hope competing versions of the bill will spur substantive discussion in the Committee and push the process forward.”
What are the next legislative steps?
“The second bill was referred to the Strategy and Finance Committee (competent standing committee) in November 2025 and was presented by the expert advisor in February 2026. The expert advisor report includes comments from “relevant organisations” but these are only business groups: the Korean Chamber of Commerce, the Korean Enterprises Federation and the Federation of Korean Industries. The next step is review and discussion in the standing committee, which may involve public consultation on the bill. If the bill passes the standing committee, it will be sent to the Legislation and Judiciary Committee to review the text and coherence with other laws. The bill will then be presented to the plenary and undergo a vote.”
The second bill is less protective and covers less companies than the first one, considering Korean current political context, do you think the second bill has more chances to be adopted?
“If there are multiple similar bills tabled, they are often reviewed together and merged into an ‘alternative’ bill endorsed by the standing committee. So, it’s less about which version of the bill will be adopted and more about which provisions will make it to the final version. It’s also possible that parts of the final agreed text are different from both bills.”
What are KTNC-Watch advocacy strategies to ensure a parliamentary consensus on the need to adopt a mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence bill that is as protective as possible for rightsholders and meets international standards (the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises)?
“KTNC Watch is engaging with lawmakers to provide our opinion on the detailed elements and to push for further action on the bill(s). At the same time, we are reaching out to other CSOs, trade unions and social movements for their support. We are also preparing to launch a public-facing campaign to raise awareness, which will all hopefully lead to positive pressure on the National Assembly.”
Differences on key issues between the two bills
Do you think that the watering down of the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) has impacted the drafting process of the second bill or will impact future parliamentary debates?
“I don’t know whether it impacted the drafting process of the second bill, but it will likely impact the debates on the bills going forward. The expert advisor’s report from September 2025 mentions these trends in the EU and suggests the need to ‘wait and see’ international trends on mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence legislation. However, we will continue to emphasise that, even in the watered-down form, the CSDDD represents a critical step towards binding laws and will apply to a significant number of Korean companies doing business in the EU.”
Reception by Korean Companies
Out of the 105 companies operating in five high-risk sectors (food and agriculture products, apparel, extractives, information and communication technology manufacturing and automotive manufacturing) assessed by the Corporate Human Rights Benchmark, four companies are South Korean: Samsung Electronics, Hyundai Motor, SK Hynix and Kia. The average score of these four companies is 52.8 out of 100, below the average of all 105 companies assessed (53.8 out of 100).
In your opinion, how do Korean companies view mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence? Is there strong opposition and lobbying against the bills?
“Major Korean business and employers’ groups, such as the Korean Chamber of Commerce and the Korea Enterprises Federation have expressed opposition to the bills, saying it will harm the competitiveness of Korean industries. Their position is that human rights and environmental due diligence should be voluntary and relevant legislation should focus on incentives and support for the enterprises. To our knowledge, there is no Korean company that expressed support for mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence. The lack of allies in the business sector is a major challenge for us.”
How many companies would be covered under both bills? What percentage of the total number of Korean companies does this represent?
“We estimate around 2,000 companies will be covered under the first bill. I’m not sure for the second bill, but it will likely be less than half that number. While this represents a small fraction of the total number of companies in Korea, the law will impact a large number of SMEs with business relationships with large companies, especially major conglomerates which have disproportionate influence over the Korean economy.”
What are the most at risk sectors among Korean companies in terms of human rights abuses and environmental harms?
“There are many sectors with serious human rights and environmental risks involving Korean companies. In 2025, we have supported cases of individuals and communities negatively affected by business activities of Korean companies in the electronics, fisheries, garment, shipbuilding, food, energy, finance sectors, and more.”
Awareness of Civil Society?
Is Korean civil society aware of corporate accountability issues? Are people aware of human rights and environmental abuses occurring in the operations of major Korean companies or that Korean companies outsource operations in countries with more lenient legislation on human rights and environmental standards, such as Samsung in Vietnam, leading to abuses? If not, why?
“I’d say there is unfortunately low awareness of human rights and environmental abuses related to Korean companies, especially for those occurring outside Korea. These issues are often not covered in mainstream media outlets, many of which are owned or captured by large conglomerates such as SBS, the largest private broadcaster owned by the Taeyong Group, a conglomerate focusing on construction, or JoogAng Ilbo, one of the three biggest newspapers run by relatives of the Samsung Lee family.”
What are the strategies of KTNC Watch and its partners to advance the debate about corporate accountability in South Korea and raise awareness among Korean civil society?
“Our approach is to work directly with affected individuals, communities and local partners to bring their stories to Korea and seek accountability and remedy. We believe these stories are crucial in showing people what is really at stake beyond the legal and technical discourse on business and human rights and ESG.
Specifically for the bill, we are targeting workers as important allies. We held consultations with trade unions to show how they can use the law for their own advocacy, such as addressing exploitation through multiple levels of subcontracting. In the recent May Day rally, we distributed thousands of leaflets explaining how workers can use the bill and calling for their support.”
Conclusion
The shift from voluntary measures towards binding legislation on corporate accountability is progressively advancing in several Asian countries (South Korea, Thailand, Indonesia).
In South Korea, despite opposition from the business sector to mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence and a rather low awareness on corporate accountability issues among South Korean public, lawmakers have taken up the issue thanks to the critical work of Korean CSOs such as KTNC-Watch. With now two bills under consideration before Parliament, South Korea could become in the next couple of months, the first Asian country to impose mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence to large companies.
To be continued.