State of the World's Minorities and Indigenous Peoples 2010 - Republic of Korea

Ethnic minorities make up a very small percentage of South Korea's 48.7 million people. The largest minority comprises approximately 20,000 people of Chinese descent who are barred from obtaining citizenship or becoming civil servants. Since citizenship is transferred through parents, some children born to ethnic Chinese parents have been rendered stateless, according to an 11 March 2009 report by RI. The children do not qualify for Korean citizenship, nor can they obtain Chinese citizenship if their parents are 'settled abroad' (i.e. if they have acquired permanent residency outside China).

Foreign workers, who have doubled in number over the past seven years to 1.2 million, have reported widespread discrimination. In a November 2009 briefing to the UN, AI reported discrimination in the workplace against foreign workers who are mostly from South Asia. AI cited cases of sexual abuse, racial slurs and mandatory disclosure of HIV status, and the group reported that 'incidents of xenophobia are on the rise' since the beginning of global economic crisis in 2009. Foreign workers have also reported abuse in public. Prosecutors charged a 31-year-old Korean man with contempt after he made racist and sexist comments on a bus during a 10 July incident that was widely reported in the media. The man insulted Bonogit Hussaine, an Indian national who teaches at a Seoul university, and his female friend Hahn Ji-seon, who is Korean. The case prompted politicians to begin drafting legislation that would define discrimination by race and ethnicity, and impose criminal penalties, the New York Times reported.

USCRIF 2009 reported that, 'the government generally respected religious freedom in practice'. However, more than 400 Jehovah's Witnesses remain in prison due to conscientious objection to military service, according to the US State Department. Military service is compulsory for all South Korean men over the age of 18.