Source: National Human Rights Commission of the Republic of Korea.

5.As a result of the Gender Impact Analysis and Assessment Policy, the number of projects subject to the analysis and assessment increased from 14,792 in 2012 to 34,484 in 2016, and 43 central administrative organizations and independent institutions prepared gender responsive budget statement on a total of 331 budgetary projects. The government set performance targets and conducted gender-disaggregated benefit analysis for each project, thereby executing the budgetary projects in a way that improves gender equality.

Table 2Number of organizations and projects subject to gender impact analysis

Year	2013	2014	2015	2016
No. of organizations	304	304	343	331
No. of projects	20 372	26 438	34 258	34 468
Avg. No. of projects per organization	67.0	87.	99.8	104.1

Source: www.gia.mogef.go.kr.

6.The Gender Equality Committee, operated under the Prime Minister, is based on the amendment of Article 11 of the Framework Act on Gender Equality, and works to provide a government-wide foundation to achieve gender equality. Compared to the Women Policy Committee, which was in place before 2015, the number of Gender Equality Committee members from the private sector has expanded from 5 to 10 in order to reflect more diverse opinions in government policies. The first meeting of the Gender Equality Committee was held in July 2015, and four meetings were convened until December 2016. The Committee consists of 24 members (chaired by the Prime Minister and vice-chaired by the Minister of Gender Equality and Family, and seated by 12 Minister-level cabinet members and 10 members from private sectors), and plans to expand the private-sector membership to include representatives from academic and cultural communities as well as civil organizations. In addition, the government designated Gender Equality Policy Officers (at assistant deputy minister level) and professional personnel in 47 central administrative organizations and 17 city/provincial government organizations in July 2015.

Response to Question 5

7.Launched in June 2014, the permanent cooperative body on gender responsive budgeting consists of related ministries, including the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, Ministry of the Interior and Safety, and Statistics Korea and four civilian experts. This body is convened at least three times a year to establish guidelines for gender-responsive budgeting and accounting while also reviewing the criteria and adequacy of selecting projects subject to gender budgeting.

Table 3Gender responsive budgeting in the last three years

	2015	2016	2017
No. of organizations	42	43	42
No. of projects subject to gender budgeting	343	331	351
Budget (KRW: Trillion, USD: Billion)	KRW 26.2 (USD 24.1)	KRW 28.0 (USD 25.7)	KRW 29.5 (UDS 27.1)
Ratio against total budget (%)	7.0	7.2	7.4

Source: A Comprehensive Analysis of Gender Budget Statements of Local Governments, Ministry of Gender Equality and Family (2017).

Table 4Implementation of gender responsive budgeting program by local governments

(Unit: number, 100 million won)

		2014		2015		2016
Year	No. of projects	Budget	No. of projects	Budget	No. of projects	Budget
Total	13 299	147 342	12 805	144 650	13 865	153 359
Programs for implementation of women’s policies	3 512	69 495	3 290	70 384	3 403	69 932
Gender impact analysis projects	8 108	69 701	7 905	66 431	8 762	73 333
Special projects by local autonomous bodies	1 679	8 146	1 610	7 834	1 700	10 094

Source: A Comprehensive Analysis of Gender Budget Statements of Local Governments, Ministry of Gender Equality and Family (2017).

8.The current administration, which took office in May 2017, plans to place the Gender Equality Committee under the Office of the President as a national policy initiative, and strengthen the gender equality policy implementation system through monitoring relevant policies from the planning and formative stage through implementation and feedback processes.

Response to Question 6

9.The government implements the Act on Prevention of Improper Solicitation and Graft, alongside the Criminal Code , the Act on the Prevention of Corruption and the Establishment and Management of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, the Protection of Public Interest Reporters Act and the Public Service Ethics Act, to prevent and punish corrupt practices. The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission is also leading efforts to set the paradigm for government-wide anti‑corruption policies and conduct integrity education for public servants while also receiving and handling reports on corruption. In addition, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family is in place to work for gender equality. The total budget and government funds allocated to this ministry amount to KRW 716.1 billion (USD 658 million) for 2017, a KRW 70 billion (USD 64.3 million) increase from the previous year.

Temporary Special Measures

Response to Question 7

10.In the current administration, 6 out of 19 ministers (or minister-level officials) under the Government Organization Act are women (31.6%). In 2017, the government set a new plan to improve women’s representation in the public sector (2017–2022), which will raise women’s representation among public servants and public organization officials/teachers in managerial positions. The plan to enhance women’s representation in the public sector (2013–2017) and the gender quota system for appointment of more women principals and deputy principals, which was set internally by the city/provincial Offices of Education, achieved the following outcome.

Table 5Women in government committees

Year	2013	2014	2015	2016
Proportion of female members	27.7	31.7	34.5	37.8

Source: The Survey of Women’s Participation in Government Committees in the Second Half of 2016, Ministry of Gender Equality and Family (2016).

Table 6Ratio of women in the public sector

Category			2012	2016
Public service	State	Senior executive directors	4.2%	5.7%
		Directors (Level 4 or higher)	9.3%	13.5%
	Local	Directors (Level 5 or higher)	9.9%	12.5%
Public organizations	Executives		8.6%	12.6%
	Managers		11.5%	17.2%
Teachers	Professors at public universities		13.7%	15.4%
	Principals/deputy principals at elementary/middle schools		24.6%	34.3%

Source: Ministry of Personnel Management (2016), Ministry of Education, Ministry of Gender Equality and Family (2017)

11.The government also sets annual target to support women public officials in their advancement into Level 4 or higher positions as well as senior executive positions and monitor the progress. The government plans to encourage public universities to make voluntary efforts to appoint more women faculty members, by adopting key indicators related to women faculty members in the universities’ information disclosure items. The following table shows women’s participation in the judiciary branch and prosecutors’ offices.

Table 7Number of women officials in the judiciary system and prosecutors’ offices

	Constitution research
	Prosecutors	Judges	Officers	Judicial trainees
2016	28.7% (594 women)	27.8% (808 women)	55.2% (32 women)	33.5% (135 women)

Source: Ministry of Personnel Management (2016).

12.In March 2010, the government inserted a new article in the Public Official Election Act, based on which political parties are required to nominate at least one female candidate for provincial or local government council in every local constituency (excluding countryside districts, called gun.) Failure to do so will result in the nullification of the party’s entire candidate slate. In the election for the seats of the 20th National Assembly which was held in April 2016, 51 women candidates (17%) were elected, increasing the ratio of women in the National Assembly from 47 members (15.7%) in the 19th National Assembly.

Table 8Proportion of female members in the National Assembly

(Unit: persons, %)

			Gender
Election	Election title	Total	Men	Women (%)
19th election (2012)	Total	300	253	47 (15.7)
	Proportional representation	54	26	28 (51.9)
	Local constituency-based	246	227	19 (7.7)
20th election (2016)	Total	300	249	51 (17)
	Proportional representation	47	22	25 (53.2)
	Local constituency-based	253	227	26 (10.3)

Source: A Conspectus of the Members of the 19th National Assembly, National Election Commission (2016).

13.The following table shows women’s representation among senior positions in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Meanwhile, the government plans to double the ratio of women among senior public officials and at Level 4 or higher within the next 5 years (2017–2022).

Table 9Ratio of women public officials in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

(Unit: %)

	Senior executive service	Level 3	Level 4
2017	3.78%	8.7%	24%

Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2017).

Table 10Proportion of male/female public officials in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

(Unit: persons)

	Gender
Year	No. and proportion of male workers	No. and proportion of female workers
2013	1 448	67.32%	703	32.68%
2014	1 439	67.27%	700	32.73%
2015	1 395	64.02%	784	35.98%
2016	1 394	63.01%	818	36.98%

Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2017).

Violence against Women

Response to Question 8

14.Article 297 of the current Criminal Code stipulates that the definition of “women” in terms of the victim of rape includes a legal wife, not only in the failure stage of marital relation but also during the de facto marriage period. The Supreme Court made a ruling on the criminalization of marital rape in 2013 (case number 2012Doc14788). This decision was released en banc, an explicit precedent for the interpretation and application of relevant statutes.

Response to Question 9

15.The government is determined to raise public awareness of domestic violence as a social crime not as a family affair through education for violence prevention and public relations efforts, while implementing contingency response and support measures through the revision of related law and government instructions that require the police to immediately intervene in the case upon receiving a report. Accordingly, the number of domestic violence cases officially filed increased to 264,567 in 2016 from 160,272 in 2013. The government amended the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Domestic Violence in July 2015 to provide legal grounds to introduce personal security measures for victims on his or her way to the court and impose fines on those who fail to abide by urgent contingency measures. The government also amended the Act on the Prevention of Domestic Violence and Protection of Victims in July 2015, making it possible for emergency hotline centres to provide interim shelter to victims and to launch the Domestic Violence Eradication Week beginning November 25 each year. In addition, the government plans to amend the relevant laws to adopt the preferred-arrest policy for the crimes of domestic violence, apply the three strikes out system to the repeat offenders of domestic violence and impose aggravated punishment. Also, the government runs a specialized police force dedicated to abuse cases in addition to the expansion of the previous domestic violence squad, while also operating independent units reserved for cases involving women and youth.

Table 11Number of domestic violence cases and actions taken (by police)

(Unit: cases, persons)

		No. of arrested persons	Action taken	No. of persons sent to persecutors as home protection cases
Year	No. of cases	Non-detention	Detention
2012	8 762	9 345	9 272	73	494
2013	16 785	18 000	17 738	262	1 579
2014	17 557	18 666	18 416	250	2 853
2015	40 822	47 549	46 943	606	15 710
2016	45 614	53 476	52 967	509	19 828

Source: National Police Agency.

16.The Law on the Prevention of Children and Juveniles from Sexual Abuse establishes the definition of sexual crime against children and juveniles and describes the punishment and investigation procedures, while also describing provisions related to the guidance and protection of children and juveniles, rescue of and support for the victimized children and juveniles, personal information disclosure of sex offenders, and reporting obligations of persons who work at relevant institutions. In September 2017, the government trained 16,617 employees from kindergartens, schools, private educational institutes, and juvenile centres that are obliged to report sexual crimes against children and juveniles. The government also produced and distributed 200,000 copies of customized promotional booklets to relevant organizations. Furthermore, the government abolished the policy on criminalizing sex offenders solely based on the complaint made by the victim, with the amendment to the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment, etc. of Sexual Crimes. The amendment now allows officials to investigate all sexual crimes, unlike the previous law which made it impossible to punish the perpetrator without the victim personally filing the complaint.

17.In 2016, general women police officers accounted for 10.6% and women maritime police officers stood at 10.8%, all of which went over the target ratio of women in the organization. Police stations of various levels are also training their employees including senior officials and non-regular employees to prevent sexual violence, prostitution, sexual harassment and domestic violence, in an effort to improve gender sensitivity in the organization. The government implements child abuse prevention plans to eradicate child abuse in the child-rearing process. As part of such efforts, a joint on-site monitoring was conducted for about 17,000 children at risk. The government also increased the number of shelters (from 46 to 53) for the victims of child abuse and expanded the scope of persons with reporting obligations for child abuse cases while also creating education courses to prevent child abuse.

Response to Question 10

18.In order to prevent sexual violence in schools and sexual harassment in public organizations (including government organizations, local autonomous bodies, elementary/middle/high schools, universities and public companies), the government requires schools and public organizations to ① set up a grief support program, ② designate persons in charge of handling grievances and provide them with specialized training, and to ③ prepare an internal guideline for the prevention of sexual harassment. Any organization that fails to meet any of these requirements is classified as an underperforming organization to take preventive measures. The government also established the Anti-Violence School Policy initiative tailored for elementary school students in August 2015 and the Policy for Prevention of In‑School Sexual Violence against Students in February 2017 to prevent sexual violence or sexual harassment in the course of education. For example, students are provided with more than 15 hours of training each year on sexual violence prevention, and teachers undergo one or more training sessions each year on sexual violence, sexual harassment and prostitution prevention.

19.Following the recommendation from the National Human Rights Commission of the Republic of Korea, the government is expanding the Gender Impact Analysis and Assessment policy on national defence projects and relevant legislation to promote the human rights of servicewomen. In addition, the government mandated that servicemen and servicewomen in the military receive gender sensitivity and gender equality training, and established a Gender Equality Centre in each branch of the military in June 2015. Any military personnel who fail to complete these training courses are excluded from the list of candidates for a promotion review. Based on the recommendation from the National Human Rights Commission of the Republic of Korea, the government also conducted a study to increase support for the victims of sexual harassment at universities while amending relevant laws to strengthen disciplinary actions on faculty members who perpetrate sexual crimes. In addition, the government requested universities to conduct training and create a curriculum on sexual violence and sexual harassment prevention among members of universities including freshman students and faculty members (from May to November 2016). The government will encourage public universities to make voluntary efforts in this area, by amending the relevant laws and regulations to require universities to disclose their track records of sexual violence prevention education.

20.Furthermore, the government is guiding and monitoring small and medium-sized businesses to prevent sexual harassment, providing them with customized training materials such as educational video clips. In 2016, the government provided sexual harassment prevention training to 3,740 employees at 203 small-sized enterprises, each of which had less than 30 employees. After monitoring 31,957 businesses, the government identified 5,325 businesses that failed to make efforts to prevent sexual harassment and took corrective measures along with imposing fines.

Table 12Details of sexual harassment prevention activities

Year	Contents
2016	–Distributed a guideline to small and medium-sized businesses to conduct workplace sexual harassment prevention education
	–Produced and distributed workplace sexual harassment prevention/ response manuals (5,000 copies)
	–Produced and distributed educational video clips to prevent workplace sexual harassment
2017	–Produced and distributed leaflets on workplace sexual harassment prevention (5,000 copies)

Source: Ministry of Employment and Labor (2017).

Response to Question 11

21.The government operates 10 counselling and psychological therapy centres including healthy family support centres and domestic and sexual violence counselling centres in districts where a large population of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) women defectors reside. The women and girls arriving and resettling in the Republic of Korea from the DPRK receive counselling services and psychological therapies from their peers and professional counsellors in the centres. In 2017, the government currently conducts research on the current status of violence against women defectors from the DPRK and ways to support them, in order to identify their violent victimization in the process of arriving and resettling in the Republic of Korea, and to provide them with systematic support.

Trafficking and Exploitation of Prostitution of Women

Response to Question 12

22.There is not much difference before and after the government’s ratification of the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime because abduction was regarded as the crime of human trafficking and was punished in accordance with the Criminal Code even before the ratification of the protocol. Following the ratification of the protocol, the government established a new provision (Article 296.2 of the Criminal Code) regarding the limited universal jurisdiction over crimes, which allows the government to punish as per the law of the Republic of Korea the crimes of human trafficking perpetrated by foreigners in foreign countries, besides the crimes of abduction under the existing Special Criminal Code. After the ratification of the protocol, the government also took measures to penalize the perpetrators of abduction and human trafficking which are used as a channel to commit other crimes including labour exploitation, prostitution, sexual exploitation, and organ harvesting, as well as to penalize the persons who aid or abet such crimes and human trafficking by recruiting, transporting, and delivering the victims.

Table 13Number of cases related to human trafficking crime

(Unit: persons)

Period	Receipt	Subject to legal proceedings	Prosecuted	Non-prosecuted	Others
2013	401	387	110	128	149
2014	507	489	145	145	199
2015	468	487	157	150	180
2016	566	572	199	190	183

Table 14Current status of the first trial rulings on human trafficking cases (Court Administration Office)

(Unit: persons)

		Verdict
Year	Receipt	Total	Life sentence	Stay of sentence	Suspended sentence	Pecuniary sentence	Deferred sentence	Sentence acquittal	Other
2006	276	252	0	42	118	59	1	1	31
2007	350	336	0	48	128	142	2	2	14
2008	256	265	1	56	120	56	2	5	25
2009	296	275	0	57	112	50	6	6	44
2010	206	242	0	65	77	54	2	10	34
2011	182	178	0	67	67	12	2	6	24
2012	213	205	0	85	70	6	0	3	41
2013	153	176	0	70	66	6	1	2	31
2014	169	155	0	68	56	4	1	4	22
2015	196	179	0	73	66	4	3	5	28
2016	238	225	0	101	62	4	1	4	53

23.The government has also provided women defectors from the DPRK with training on sexual violence and domestic violence to nurture them as peer counsellors for other women defectors from the DPRK. In 2016, sexual violence prevention training and domestic violence prevention training were offered to 30 women defectors from the DPRK, respectively. Since 2013, the government has operated gender equality and human rights protection training in cooperation with Hanawon and Hana Centres (10 locals), which support defectors from the DPRK in the early phase of their resettlement in the Republic of Korea, under the umbrella of the Ministry of Unification.

24.As most of the women engaging in prostitution remain victims due to their socially and economically vulnerable positions, the government adopted the concept of “victims of prostitution” in the Act on the Prevention of Commercial Sex Acts and Protection, etc. of Victims. Under the law, the victims of prostitution are provided with protection and pro bono services such as consultations, residence, medical and legal support, and education including vocational training to facilitate their livelihood after leaving prostitution. Foreign women in prostitution are also provided with free accommodations and meals for 3 months (to be extended if investigation or lawsuit is underway), medical support, legal support, vocational training and employment support as well as translation and other services to help them return to their home countries. In addition, the government operates 96 counselling centres, shelters, and rehabilitation centres for the victims of prostitution.

Table 15Number of support organizations for prostitution victims by year

Year	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017
Total	88	91	91	92	94
Counse l ling centre s	26	27	26	27	28
Support facilities for adolescents and adult Koreans	39	40	40	39	39
Support facilities for non-Koreans	1	1	1	1	1
Group homes	11	12	12	12	13
Rehabilitation support centre s	9	9	10	11	11
Commissioned organizations for alternative education	2	2	2	2	2

Source: Brief book of Ministry of Gender Equality and Family (2017).

25.Meanwhile, online consultation, emergency rescue and legal support are available for the juveniles who were exposed to prostitution through chatting applications and internet communication channels. As for the juvenile victims of prostitution, specialized treatment and rehabilitation training are in place along with systematic counselling. Moreover, the government established facilities to support the juvenile victims of prostitution, with 20,072 cases in 2016, and designated two institutions to offer them alternative education.

Table 16Participants in education for adolescent victims of prostitution

(Unit: persons)

Year	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016
No. of participants	355	278	355	369	377

Source: Brief book of Ministry of Gender Equality and Family (2017).

Nationality

Response to Question 13

26.Under the Nationality Law, “women” refers to all women in general — Korean women married to foreign men, foreign women married to Korean men, and foreign women married to foreign men — and there are no discriminatory provisions against women. Up until 1998, children born to Korean women married to foreign men had not been allowed to acquire Korean nationality by birth. However, the amended Nationality Law adopted the principle of jus sanguinis to both lines of parents, permitting children born to mothers who are nationals of the Republic of Korean to acquire Korean nationality by birth, regardless of the nationality of their fathers. Up until 1998, foreign women married to Korean men automatically acquired Korean nationality regardless of their intentions, but the amendment to the relevant law allowed them to choose not to acquire Korean nationality. If they wish to acquire it, they can do so by obtaining permission for naturalization from the relevant authorities. Foreign women married to foreign men had not been allowed to independently seek naturalization before 1998. However, the amended law allowed them to independently seek to obtain permission for naturalization.

Education

Response to Question 14

27.The proportion of female engineering students in the total female college student population is constantly on the rise. The government launched an initiative to nurture talented women engineers in 2016, which supports 10 four-year universities with engineering departments and majors (attended by female students) for three years. Major tasks under this project include analysing promising engineering fields for female students and developing specialized inter-disciplinary curricula that are customized to address new challenges in a changing industrial environment.

Table 17Distribution of male/female students by major

(Unit: %)

Year	Gender	Total	Humanities	Social sciences	Education	Engineering	Natural science	Medicine	Arts/sports
2005	Total	100.0 (1 859 639)	13.5	28.1	4.3	27.9	12.6	3.4	10.1
	Women	100.0 (1 175  401)	21.0	28.1	7.0	9.7	14.9	4.8	14.4
	Men	100.0 (684  238)	9.2	28.1	2.7	38.5	11.3	2.7	7.5
	Proportion women	36.8	57.1	36.8	60.6	12.8	43.4	51.2	52.7
2010	Total	100.0 (2 028 841)	13.2	30.3	4.2	25.9	12.0	3.9	10.5
	Women	100.0 (1 250  655)	9.4	29.9	2.9	36.2	10.9	2.6	8.1
	Men	100.0 (778  186)	19.2	30.9	6.3	9.5	13.8	5.8	14.5
	Proportion women	38.4	56.0	39.1	57.4	14.0	44.1	57.9	52.8
2013	Total	100.0 (2  120 296)	12.9	29.4	4.1	26.0	12.2	4.9	10.6
	Women	100.0 (1  284 593)	9.5	28.9	2.9	36.3	11.2	3.1	8.1
	Men	100.0 (835  703)	18.0	30.1	5.9	10.2	13.7	7.6	14.5
	Proportion women	39.4	55.2	40.4	57.3	15.4	44.3	61.6	53.8
2014	Total	100.0 (2 130  046)	12.7	28.9	4.1	26.3	12.1	5.2	10.6
	Women	100.0 (846  842)	17.6	29.8	5.9	10.7	13.5	8.2	14.4
	Men	100.0 (1 283  204)	9.5	28.4	2.9	36.6	11.2	3.3	8.1
	Proportion women	39.8	54.9	40.9	57.7	16.1	44.2	61.8	54.0
2015	Total	100.0 (2 113  293)	12.5	28.6	4.1	26.6	12.1	5.6	10.6
	Women	100.0 (848  423)	17.1	29.6	5.9	11.3	13.3	8.6	14.3
	Men	100.0 (1 264  870)	9.5	27.8	2.8	36.9	11.3	3.6	8.1
	Proportion women	40.1	54.7	41.7	58.4	17.0	44.1	61.6	54.2
2016	Total	100.0 (2 084  807)	12.3	28.2	4.1	26.9	12.0	5.9	10.6
	Women	100.0 (846 344)	16.6	29.6	6.0	11.7	13.0	8.9	14.2
	Men	100.0 (1 238  463)	9.4	27.3	2.8	37.3	11.2	3.8	8.1
	Proportion women	40.6	54.8	42.5	59.3	17.6	44.2	61.3	54.5
2017	Total	100.0 (2  050  619)	12.0	27.8	4.1	27.6	11.8	6.1	10.6
	Women	100.0 (839 929)	16.2	29.4	5.9	12.4	12.8	9.1	14.1
	Men	100.0 (1 210 690)	9.1	26.7	2.8	38.1	11.1	4.1	8.1
	Proportion women	41.0	55.3	43.4	59.4	18.4	44.3	60.9	54.7

Source: Ministry of Education (2017).

Note: The second line in table (year: 2005) indicates correction of errors in the quoted statistics Table 30 in Annex II of the 8TH Report.

28.In addition, the government runs a program called K-Girls’ Day to provide schoolgirls with opportunities to experience industrial technology to increase their entry into natural science and engineering in college. In 2017, the 4th K-Girls’ Day drew 2,106 people.

Table 18Participation in the K-Girls’ Day

Type	2014	2015	2016	2017	Total
Number of Programs	95	109	120	124	448
Number of Participants	1 876	1 852	2 267	2 106	8 101

Source: Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (2017).

Response to Question 15

29.The National Guideline on Sex Education aims to cultivate healthy sexual values and attitudes, foster a sense of responsibility among students and inform them about the importance of life. This national standard is composed of six main topics (human development, human relationship, coping skills, sexual behaviour, sexual health, and society and culture), providing credible knowledge and information on sex, sexual health, prevention of early pregnancies among juveniles, sexually responsible behaviour, sexual values and sexual norms in accordance with the age-specific developmental stage of children and juveniles. Education on the human rights of sexual minorities is provided through related school subjects (morals, public health, social studies, life and ethics.) In 2016, the government conducted research projects to supplement sexual education materials of schools. In October 2017, the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Gender Equality and Family jointly created a public-private consultative body to collect opinions from various members of society including citizens, and will continue to have discussion on the guideline for sex education at school. The government is also sponsoring a pilot education project on sexual human rights, targeting elementary, middle and high school students of all ages to make violence prevention education more effective and to prevent sexual violence at schools.

Employment

Response to Question 16

30.The employment rate (among population aged 15–64) was 75.8% for men and 56.2% for women in 2016, while the ratio of irregular women workers was 39.9% in 2014. The government plans to adopt an annual strategic plan for employment status conversion affecting 853 institutions based on the experience of the irregular employees so that the employees engaged in ordinary, constant and continuous but irregular jobs will be given regular employment status, if possible. The government also plans to distribute information about a standard wage level guideline on major job categories including cleaning and facility management among public organizations, in connection with the spirit of equal pay for work of equal value.

Table 19Proportion of irregular workers among salaried workers

(Unit: %)

		2014		2015		2016
Year	Total	Men	Women	Total	Men	Women	Total	Men	Women
Irregular workers	32.4	26.6	39.9	32.5	26.5	40.2	32.8	26.4	41.1
Fixed-term workers	14.6	12.6	17.3	14.8	12.6	17.7	14.9	12.4	18.1
Part-time workers	10.8	5.5	17.7	11.6	6.3	18.4	12.6	6.5	20.6

Source: Statistics Korea (2017).

Table 20Women’s economic participation

(Unit: Thousand persons, %)

		2014		2015		2016
Type	Total	Men	Women	Total	Men	Women	Total	Men	Women
Population aged 15 or older	42 513	20 795	21 718	43 017	21 062	21 956	43 416	21 282	22 134
Economically active population	26 536	15 387	11 149	26 913	15 543	11 370	27 247	15 718	11 529
Economic participation rate	62.4	74.0	51.3	62.6	73.8	51.8	62.8	73.9	52.1
Employed	25 599	14 839	10 761	25 936	14 971	10 965	26 235	15 122	11 114
Unemployed	937	548	389	976	572	405	1 012	596	416
Unemployment rate	3.5	3.6	3.5	3.6	3.7	3.6	3.7	3.8	3.6
Employment rate	60.2	71.4	49.5	60.3	71.1	49.9	59.5	70.8	48.8

Source: Korea National Statistics Office, Survey on Economically Active Population.

31.In case a company violates the equal pay for work of equal value principle, the employee can file a petition to the Ministry of Employment and Labor, which will then investigate the case and require the company to take corrective actions if found to have violated the law. In case the company disobeys the order for corrective measures, it shall be referred to legal proceedings. The pay gap is caused by many factors such as gender discrimination in employment process and occupational job segregation by gender. In 2016, the Ministry of Employment and Labor looked into 10 cases that violated the equal pay for work of equal value principle under the Equal Employment Act. Meanwhile, the 6th Framework Plan for Equal Employment (2018–2022) will include measures to bridge the gender wage gap. Furthermore, a comprehensive research project will be sponsored by the government with the purpose of addressing the indicator management issue concerning Korea’s gender wage gap situation. Also, the 2018 Gender Equal Wage Manual, containing the latest information, will be completed and distributed among the employers.

Response to Question 17

32.The government adopted affirmative action (AA) measures for large private companies with 500 employees or more and all public organizations in 2006. As a result, the ratio of women managers in the private sector increased from 20.77% in 2015 to 21.16% in 2016.

Table 21Proportion of female professionals and female workers in managerial positions

(Unit: Thousand persons, %)

	2013	2014	2015	2016
Female workers	10 494	10 761	10 965	11 114
Female professionals and female workers in managerial positions 1	2 348	2 453	2 542	2 587
Proportion	22.4	22.8	23.2	23.3

Source: The Economically Active Population Survey, Statistics Korea.

Note: 1) Female workers classified as administrators or professionals according to the categories of profession based on the Korean Standard Classification of Occupations

2) Proportion of female professionals and female workers in managerial positions (%) = (No. of female professionals and female workers in managerial positions/No. of female workers) × 100%.

33.It was identified that irregular employment status for women engaged in low quality jobs was caused mainly by their career interruption (the M-curve phenomenon) due to pregnancy and childcare. In this regard, the government encourages companies to adopt a more flexible working hour system and supports career-interrupted women to be re-employed with a decent job through employment support agencies and Sae-il Centre, a nation-wide network dedicated to women’s re‑employment under the supervision of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family.

Table 22 Outcomes of support for the employment of women with interrupted careers

(Unit: Persons, %)

Program	Year	No. of participants	No. of those who completed the programme	No. of those employed after the programme	Employment rate
Vocational training	2013	15 145	14 041	8 089	57.6
	2014	15 094	14 124	8 599	60.9
	2015	16 689	15 596	10 537	67.6
	2016	14 066	13 232	9.721	73.5
Sae-il internship	2013	6 146	5 363	5 189	96.8
	2014	6 083	3 825	3 556	93.0
	2015	6 959	5 613	5 311	94.6
	2016	6 579	5 397	5 154	95.5

Source: The 2016 Statistics on the Results of Sae-il Centres, Ministry of Gender Equality and Family; The 2014 Employment Insurance White Paper, Ministry of Employment and Labor.

34.Eight professional career-oriented women’s re-employment centres (Sae-il Centre) are also in operation, which focus on supporting the re-employment of highly educated or highly experienced women. In addition, the state-run Academy for Promising Women provides highly educated women with capability improvement training to help them grow as leaders of the organizations they belong to; a total of 23,276 women received training from 2013 through 2016. The government also plans to offer an integrated employment support service by analysing women’s career interruption phenomenon and their desire for employment, establishing individual life cycle-based career development plans and providing customized re‑employment support for women. Since 2015, the women’s re-employment centre has achieved the following outcome.

Table 23Employment records by the women’s re-employment centre (Sae-il Centre) General overview

(Unit: case, %)

				No. of the employed/star-up owners
Year	No. of job-offering employers	No. of job seekers	Total	Under indefinite-term labor contract	Under indefinite-term labor contract ( part-time)	Under indefinite-term labor c ontract	Under indefinite-term labor contract (part-time)	Start-up
2015	358 279	283 119	140 040	80 254 (57.3%)	14 698 (10.5%)	28 820 (20.6%)	14 996 (10.7%)	1 272 (0.9%)
2016	420 191	388 390	153 797	89 492 (58.2%)	17 980 (11.7%)	29 043 (18.9%)	16 050 (10.4%)	1 232 (0.8%)
As of June 2017	242 016	244 801	88 783	49 296 (55.5%)	11 584 (13.0%)	17 756 (20.0%)	9 674 (10.9%)	473 (0.5%)

Source: Ministry of Gender Equality and Family (2017).

Analysis by occupation

Year	2015	2016	As of June 2017
Clerical/accounting	31 410 (22.4%)	30 596 (19.9%)	16 197 (18.2%)
Construction/machinery	4 669 (3.3%)	5 595 (3.6%)	3 363 (3.8%)
Sales/distribution	7 472 (5.3%)	7 812 (5.1%)	3 512 (4.0%)
Education/research	10 663 (7.6%)	10 290 (6.7%)	5 362 (6.0%)
Hairdressing/accommodation/food	16 540 (11.8%)	18 442 (12.0%)	10 390 (11.7%)
Electricity/electronics	4 878 (3.5%)	5 382 (3.5%)	3 381 (3.8%)
Health/medical care	18 472 (13.2%)	22 117 (14.4%)	13 361 (15.0%)
Service including security guard	11 106 (7.9%)	13 172 (8.6%)	9 246 (10.4%)
Social welfare	15 142 (10.8%)	15 511 (10.1%)	10 194 (11.5%)
Others	19 688 (14.1%)	24 880 (16.2%)	13 777 (15.5%)
Total	140 040	153 797	88 783

Source: Ministry of Gender Equality and Family (2017).

35.In cooperation with the employment support centre at the Korea Hana Foundation and 23 Hana Centres across the country, the government offers employment support to women defectors from the DPRK by providing job seeker registration, employment counselling, job placement, accompanied job interview and post-employment support. In 2016, a total of 4,236 women defectors (annual accumulation) from the DPRK underwent job capability reinforcement training from support agencies like the Good Mom Centre. The government currently operates 9 self-support projects for defectors from the DPRK, along with specialized projects targeting professional career tracks (accounting, caregiving, and apparel reforming), online learning platform, and employment voucher programs to improve the employability of women defectors from the DPRK.

Table 24

Economic activities indicators of women defectors from the DPRK

Year	Economic activity participation rate	Employment rate among job seekers	Employment rate among working age population	Unemployment rate
2016	53.5%	94.5%	50.5%	5.5%

Response to Question 18

36.Workplace day-care facilities provided by private companies are available for both regular and irregular employees. Single parents with employment insurance can take up to one year of childcare leave if their child is at or below the age of 8. In this case, 80% (up to KRW 1.5 million (USD 1,379) per person) of one’s regular pre-leave wage is paid for the first three months, and 40% (up to KRW 1 million (USD 921) per person) of the regular pre-leave wage is paid for the remaining nine months during the one-year childcare leave period. In order to encourage employers to more actively sponsor their employees’ childcare leave, the government has increased its monthly subsidy up to KRW 300,000 (USD 276) per person for the employers entitled to high priority public support in January 2017. The government has also strengthened its supervision on the maternity protection system, conducting labour supervision activities by taking advantage of a combined set of public information including health insurance records. In addition, the government vigorously conducts campaigns to raise awareness of the Maternity Protection Alarm Service among employees and employers and designate a period for intensive filing of equal employment-related issues.

Table 25Financial support for substitute workers for maternity/parental leave

(Unit: persons, million won)

Year	2013	2014	2015	2016
Number of participants	3 722	5 039	6 602	7 133
Number of participants, including duplication	3 798	5 209	6 893	7 566
Amount	9 225	13 627	25 360	31 529

Source: Ministry of Employment and Labor.

37.A sufficient number of childcare facilities and kindergartens are provided for families with infants and children aged up to 5, and the childcare infrastructure preferred by parents such as the national, public and workplace childcare facilities are continuously being expanded. The government operates day-care centres that offer extended hours of childcare services (extension of childcare hours, holiday childcare, 24-hour-a-day childcare) to serve double income families and other low income, disadvantaged families. The government is also committed to expanding public childcare facilities and kindergartens as well as workplace day-care facilities. Information about such diverse childcare services is easily accessible and available on the website called iSarang, the government portal providing various information on childcare services.

Table 26Number of beneficiaries of subsidies for childcare and child education

(Unit: persons)

Year	2013	2014	2015	2016
Total	182 134	181 065	171 340	96 930
Childcare benefits	73 020	70 987	67 872	63 750
Additional childcare benefits	2 323	2 487	2 451	2 389
Subsidies for stationary items	106 511	107 260	100 700	30 524
Livelihood benefits	280	331	317	267

Source: The Annual Report on Policies for Women, Ministry of Gender Equality and Family.

38.Meanwhile, low-income and single parent families (below 52% of the standard median income) are provided with childcare allowance, stationeries expense support, and livelihood subsidy.

Table 27Details of subsidies for low-income, single parent families (2017)

Subsidy	Eligibility conditions	Details
Childcare allowance	Low-income, single parent families with children below age 13	KRW 120,000 (USD 110.45) per child per month
Additional childcare allowance	Low-income, grandparent-headed families and unmarried single parent (at or over age 25*) families with children at or below age 5 * Excludes unmarried single parents at or below age 24, because they refer to the juvenile single parents, who receive monthly childcare allowance of KRW 170,000 (USD 156) per month.	KRW 50,000 (USD 46) per child at or below age 5 per month
Stationeries expense support for middle/high school students	Low-income, single parent families with middle school or high school students	KRW 54,100 (USD 50) per child per year
Living expense (livelihood subsidy)	Low-income, single parent households that are admitted to the welfare facilities dedicated to single parent families	KRW 50,000 (USD 46) per household per month

Source: Ministry of Gender Equality and Family.

Response to Question 19

39.The government continuously conducts education and campaigns to prevent unwanted pregnancies and induced abortions. Efforts are made to expand the government support for promoting maternity health related to pregnancy and childbirth and to alleviate the burden of related medical expenses by covering more of such expense items under the National Health Insurance Scheme. If a pregnant woman has one of the following reasons to undergo an induced abortion as described in the Mother and Child Health Act, she is entitled to receive a safe abortion procedure at a medical institution under the National Health Insurance Scheme. Meanwhile, there are various opinions in the Republic of Korea over all different types of abortions, regarding the right to self-determination and the fetal right to life. The government will continue to deliberate on the issue with a view to finding a more reasonable solution suited for the changing social environment of Korea. In order to alleviate the burden of medical expense during pregnancy and childbirth, the government provides pregnant women with a debit card named Happy People Card to support their health management expense before and after the childbirth, within the scope covered by the National Health Insurance. The government is also in the process of expanding the coverage of the National Health Insurance to include critical medical expenses, such as medical examination expense before delivery, for pregnant women at high risk. In addition, the government operates a specialized counselling centre called Mother Safe Korea that offers free of charge counselling services to pregnant women, including the information about possible adverse effects related to the administration of ordinary medicine such as flu medicine and contraceptive pills as well as about the safe use of medicine. Nine integrated treatment centres are also in operation to protect the health of high-risk pregnant women.

Response to Question 20

40.The government established the 4th Five-Year Framework Plan to Cultivate Female Farmers (2016–2020), which includes gender equality policies that establish a system to recognize women as a co-owner of their farms with their husbands, expand female farmers’ subscription to the National Pension scheme, and improve the vocational capabilities of female farmers. As for the fisheries industry characterized with low participation from women, the Korea Maritime Institute sponsors a research project to develop a policy paradigm aimed at improving women’s participation and empowerment in the fisheries industry (May–December 2017). Based on the outcome of this study, the government will amend and improve relevant laws and systems. After July 2018 when the amended Fisheries Cooperatives Act is to take effect, the total number of women directors in the regional fisheries cooperatives will increase to more than 35 persons.

Table 28Recent status of women members and directors in the fisheries cooperatives

(Unit: persons, %)

		Members		Directors
Year	Total (A)	Women (B)	Ratio (A/B)%	Total (A)	Women (B)	Ratio (A/B)%
2012	158 072	48 114	30.4	695	7	1.0
2014	159 305	49 343	30.8	689	15	2.2
2016	158 299	51 178	32.3	689	21	3.0
As of S ep. 2017	159 377	51 979	32.6	701	33	4.7

41.Article 45 (Fixed number of directors and appointment of directors) of the Agricultural Cooperatives Act was also amended and currently stipulates that it is mandatory for regional agricultural cooperatives to appoint one or more women directors on the board if the proportion of women members reaches the threshold of 30% of the total membership.

Response to Question 21

42.In order to raise awareness of officers in charge of refugee-related affairs on the human rights of refugees and to improve their professional capabilities, the government trains relevant public servants and officers on the necessity of protecting the human rights of socially vulnerable groups including women, children, and sexual minorities, and about special considerations necessary in the process of reviewing refugee cases by holding workshops with lectures from the UNHCR, institutions for refugee rights, and regional experts. As a way of sensitizing the public servants and officers on the issue of women’s human rights and protection of refugees, the government frequently conducts training sessions by inviting experts from other institutions, such as the Korea Chapter of UNHCR, to educate on the recent global refugee trends, counselling and interview methodologies.

43.The government provides educational courses concerning women defectors from the DPRK, as they suffer from post-traumatic stress while resettling in the Republic of Korea due to trafficking and sexual violence that they often experience in the process of leaving the DPRK and detouring through China or a third country. Since 2013, for example, education on gender equality and human rights has been conducted at Hanawon and Hana Centre, where defectors from the DPRK stay in the early phase of their settlement in the Republic of Korea, and at alternative schools dedicated to juvenile defectors from the DPRK. In 2016, such education classes were held 102 times for 1,824 defectors from the DPRK, thus contributing to improving their awareness on healthy sexual roles and family relationship. Local familiarization centres designed to help defectors from the DPRK adjust to their life in the Republic of Korea, are operating psychological and emotional therapy programs among others to facilitate their settlement process.

Marriage and Family Relations

Response to Question 22

44.Under the Civil Law of the Republic of Korea, the property amassed individually or through cooperation with a spouse during a marriage is regarded as marital property, which is subject to equal distribution upon divorce. However, the proportion of division is determined by the court in consideration of the specific circumstances of the couple, and the marital property shared by the couple includes both tangible and intangible assets. “Fault” is not considered in the determination of the division of assets in divorce cases. Although “fault” can be a determinant factor of settlement or solatium, which has the nature of claim for damages from the spouse responsible for leading to the break off of the marriage, “fault” in this case is handled separately from the division of the marital property.

Data Collection

Response to Question 23

45.The government pushes for greater awareness of gender equality through various media activities. A production guideline for gender-equal programming for broadcasting personnel was drafted and distributed among members of such industry groups as the Korea Broadcasters Association, Korea Cable Television Association, Korea Drama Production Association, Korean Producers & Directors’ Association and Korea TV & Radio Writers Association in April 2017. Also, a task force to promote a gender-equal culture was recently created to draft long and short-term policy goals aimed at promoting gender equality in society, based on expert opinions on related policies and awareness programs. The task force is a society-wide gender governance group consisting of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, civil experts from various fields and NGOs including women’s associations. Also, the Gender Equality Voice Group has been formed with male opinion leaders who actively support gender equality in all different walks of life.

46.Apart from the central government, all 17 city and provincial governments actively implement policy measures for the safety of women and children. A number of specialized programs are underway in connection with each regional government’s different visions and capabilities, aiming to help children and women return home safely, examine the safety of relevant facilities and improve the living environment of children and women.

47.Statistical figures in the 8th Periodic Report Annex II have been thoroughly updated. However, in case the statistics carries only trivial differences compared to that in the 8th Periodic Report submitted in July 2015 or is already provided in this document, the latest statistical information is not provided individually here due to constraints of the document volume.