2nd Place is 'Care Gap and Isolation of Vulnerable Groups'
3rd Place is 'Vaccine Discrimination'
Showing Age Group Perception Differences
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Eunha] During the COVID-19 pandemic, the most serious human rights issue was identified as the infringement of property rights of small business owners and self-employed individuals.
According to the "2022 Human Rights Awareness Survey Report" published on the 18th by the National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK), 44.3% of respondents answered that the most serious human rights issue revealed during the COVID-19 situation (multiple responses allowed for 1st and 2nd priority) was "infringement of property rights of small business owners and self-employed individuals due to business restrictions." The number of business owners who quit self-employment in the past year reached 340,000.
This survey was conducted by the NHRCK and the professional polling agency Korea Research, targeting 16,148 adult men and women from July 1 to September 16 of last year.
"Isolation of vulnerable groups such as people with disabilities, the elderly, and children due to care gaps" (43.5%) and "discrimination based on vaccination status and COVID-19 infection" (28.2%) ranked second and third, respectively. Following these were "invasion of personal information and privacy" (25.7%), "restrictions on access to social welfare facilities due to quarantine measures" (23.9%), "restrictions on assemblies due to quarantine measures" (18.5%), and "increase in hate speech and discrimination against specific groups" (10.7%).
When asked whether COVID-19 affected the human rights situation, 56.4% answered "yes."
However, there were differences in perception by age group regarding the details.
Among those in their 20s and 30s, the proportions who identified "discrimination based on vaccination and COVID-19 infection" and "invasion of personal information and privacy" as the most serious human rights issues were 30.8% and 27.7%, respectively, which are 2.6 percentage points and 2.0 percentage points higher than the overall average.
On the other hand, among those aged 60 and above, "isolation of vulnerable groups" and "restrictions on access to social welfare facilities" accounted for 45.6% and 29.1%, respectively, which are 2.1 percentage points and 5.2 percentage points higher than the overall average.
The difficulties caused by COVID-19 (multiple responses allowed for 1st and 2nd priority) were ranked as follows: economic issues such as income reduction and expenses (37.6%), infection prevention and hygiene management (33.9%), inconvenience due to facility usage restrictions (31.1%), depression and isolation due to reduced social relationships (28.0%), aftereffects from vaccination and COVID-19 infection (20.5%), and job issues such as leave of absence and unemployment (19.9%).
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