EU CSDDD 시행을 중심으로 본 국제적 인권경영 동향과 국내 인권경영의 과제

The paradigm of corporate management is shifting from “Shareholder Capitalism,” centered on shareholder profits, to “Stakeholder Capitalism,” which considers the interests of all stakeholders, with ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) management at its core. In this context, the EU's “Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD)”, finally approved in May 2024, signifies a decisive turning point. It marks the transition of corporate responsibility to respect human rights from “Soft Law”, which remained a mere declarative slogan, into “Hard Law” possessing legal binding force. This directive extends the scope of corporate responsibility beyond a company's legal boundaries to the entire “Chain of Activities”, including business partners, and imposes strict sanctions, including administrative fines based on global turnover and civil liability allowing victims to claim damages. In particular, the “Minimum Harmonization” principle under Article 4 of the Directive allows member states to maintain or introduce stricter national laws, exposing companies to risks of “regulatory fragmentation” and increased compliance costs due to differing standards across jurisdictions. For South Korea, which relies heavily on an export-driven economy, this presents a substantial non-tariff trade barrier and has become a major pending issue testing supply chain management capabilities. However, South Korea's current human rights management framework remains limited to voluntary recommendations by the National Human Rights Commission or public sector-led initiatives. This has resulted in a significant lack of “Institutional Congruence” with global regulatory standards that possess strong legal binding force. Such a legal vacuum exposes domestic companies to the risk of exclusion from global supply chains and places an excessive burden on Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) that lack the capacity to respond. To address these issues, this study proposes three key policy tasks to ensure the effectiveness of domestic ESG human rights management and enhance corporate competitiveness. First, the legalization of “Due Diligence” obligations aligned with global standards is essential. This involves imposing a legal duty on companies to identify and prevent human rights risks and establishing substantive legal grounds for liability in case of violations. Second, an independent “National Action Plan (NAP)” on business and human rights should be established as a pan-governmental control tower to coordinate fragmented policies. Third, a support system must be built to provide financial assistance to SMEs in the supply chain and to foster a fair subcontracting ecosystem where large corporations and SMEs share risk management costs. In conclusion, preemptive legislative measures and policy support by the government are the only solutions to guarantee the sustainable growth of Korean companies amidst the intensifying trend of protectionism and supply chain regulations.