OECD Watch letter expresses concern over performance of South Korean NCP
This April, OECD Watch sent a letter to the South Korean NCP and other government ministries expressing concern over the NCP’s performance.
The small number of complaints submitted to the Korean NCP over the years is inconsistent with the many known instances in which South Korean companies have operated in ways inconsistent with the OECD Guidelines.
OECD Watch believes the primary reason for the Korean NCP’s shortcomings is that it lacks the confidence of social partners and other stakeholders. That confidence could be restored if the NCP’s institutional arrangement is altered to strengthen the NCP’s ability to act with impartiality.
OECD Watch’s letter urges South Korea to use the ongoing re-drafting of the Korean National Action Plan (NAP) as an opportunity to highlight shortcomings of the NCP and take action to redress these. The letter includes recommendations to strengthen the South Korean NCP, particularly vis-à-vis promoting impartiality and stakeholder confidence. Other authoritative voices inside and outside South Korea, including the National Human Rights Commission of Korea and the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights, have also called for South Korea to use the NAP as an opportunity to strengthen Korea’s actions on business and human rights, including through its NCP.
