The Right to Food around the Globe

  Republic of Korea

The Constitution of the Republic of Korea does not explicitly guarantee the right to adequate food.. 

The Republic of Korea has become a State party to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) in 1990 by way of accession.

CONSTITUTIONAL RECOGNITIONS OF THE RIGHT TO ADEQUATE FOOD

National status of international obligations

Article 6(1): “Treaties duly concluded and promulgated in accordance with the Constitution and the generally recognized rules of international law shall have the same effect as the domestic laws of the Republic of Korea.”

Other pertinent provisions for the realization of the right to adequate food

Article 10: “All citizens shall be assured of human dignity and worth and have the right to pursue happiness. It shall be the duty of the State to confirm and guarantee the fundamental and inviolable human rights of individuals.” 

Article 32(3): "Standards of working conditions shall be determined by law in such a way as to guarantee human dignity."

Article 34: 
(1) All citizens shall be entitled to a life worthy of human beings.  
(2) The State shall have the duty to endeavor to promote social security and welfare. 
(3) The State shall endeavor to promote the welfare and rights of women. 
(4) The State shall have the duty to implement policies for enhancing the welfare of senior citizens and the young. 
(5) Citizens who are incapable of earning a livelihood due to a physical disability, disease, old age or other reasons shall be protected by the State under the conditions as prescribed by Act.”

INTERNATIONAL INSTRUMENTS

Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) – 1948

International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) – 1966

Status: Accession (1990)

Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) – 1979

Status: Ratification (1984)

Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) – 1989

Status: Ratification (1991)

Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) – 2006

Status: Ratification (2008)

Legislation and policies recognizing the right to adequate food

Guidance on how to progressively realise the human right to adequate food in contexts of national food security has been provided by the Right to Food Guidelines, adopted by the FAO Council and endorsed by the Committee on World Food Security.

Considering that the human right to adequate food can be implemented through a variety of legal and policy actions, we invite you to visit the FAOLEX Country Profile database for a wide-ranging collection of measures that have been taken at national level. Some of the documents you may find are legislation and policies that touch on a number of relevant Guidelines, such as those on Access to resources and assets (Guideline 8), Food safety and consumer protection (Guideline 9), Support for vulnerable groups (Guideline 13) and Natural and human-made disasters (Guideline 16).

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