Suwon City Partner Agencies Show Slight Improvement in Human Rights Conditions

Human rights conditions at Suwon City's partner agencies have shown slight improvement compared to three years ago, according to a survey released Wednesday.

The Suwon City Human Rights Center conducted the "Second Human Rights Violation Survey of Partner Agencies" from July to August, surveying 1,215 employees at public corporations, invested and funded institutions, and subsidized organizations.

The survey found that 17.7% of respondents said they had experienced workplace bullying, down 5.3 percentage points from 23.0% in 2022. Those who reported experiencing workplace sexual harassment fell to 4.8%, down 1 percentage point from 5.8% in 2022.

Additionally, 67.2% of respondents said human rights protections had improved compared to three years ago, while 7.4% said conditions had not improved. Some 71.5% believed their human rights were being protected.

Regarding causes of human rights violations, 35.6% cited workplace organizational culture, while 29.3% pointed to individual behavior problems.

The survey was conducted through one-on-one face-to-face interviews by a professional research firm. During the survey process, the Suwon City Human Rights Center provided in-depth counseling for employees who requested it and connected those requiring remedial procedures to appropriate support services.

The center plans to designate agencies with high violation rates or those requiring institutional improvements as "priority support agencies" and establish human rights remedy and victim protection systems for each organization.

The center also plans to strengthen governance cooperation systems to substantially improve internal reporting, counseling, and follow-up support procedures while raising overall human rights standards across organizations.

A "Partner Agency Human Rights Remedy Council" will be held in December to share survey results, improvement measures for each agency, and best practice cases, strengthening customized support for individual organizations.

"While the second survey showed positive changes including decreased human rights violation rates and improved awareness of human rights protection, we also identified challenges that need improvement, such as relationship-based bullying," a Suwon City human rights official said. "We will focus on improving the remedy system through the Partner Agency Human Rights Remedy Council and developing measures to respond to human rights violations."