Basic Plan for Women’s Policies

The Women’s Development Act (1995) calls for a basic plan of action for women’s policies to be formulated every 5 years. (Paragraph 14 of the Fourth Periodic Report) The first plan covers the period between 1998-2002. (Details in paragraphs 56- 57)

Social and Cultural Obstacles

The most serious social and cultural obstacle to improving the status of women in Korea is the sex role stereotypes of the patriarchal society. Gender roles are learned in childhood, and the gap in gender identity is reflected in a dichotomy of male and female roles in the family and society. The result has been social, economic, legal, political, and cultural discrimination: disadvantages in employment, promotion, and wages; discriminatory provisions still remaining in the Family Law, such as the “family head system”; low level of women’s political participation; low participation in higher-level decision making in organizations; and serious imbalance in the sex ratio of newborn infants. During the economic crisis that started in late 1997, discrimination against women was more visible. In many cases, for example, it was the women who were the first to be laid off from employment.

Narrowing the Gap between De Jure and De Facto Status of Women

The government has marked significant milestones during the last decade in the legislation and revision of the laws to promote the status of women and gender equality, including the formulation of the Basic Plan for Women’s Policies and the establishment of Women’s Development Fund. The accomplishments would not have been possible without the cooperation and constructive criticism of women’s organizations. In its policy formulation and implementation, the government has fully incorporated public opinion through consultation with organizations and experts.

However, the gap between de jure and de facto gender equality has yet to be bridged. The government will continue to expand gender awareness education and take steps to eliminate discriminatorypatriarchal practices. It will also continue its efforts to revise laws in every field, including the political sector where women’s empowerment has been the slowest. Also, as a member of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, it will actively participate in international efforts to enhance the status of women and gender equality around the world. The Second Basic Plan for Women’s Policies (2003-2007) spells out the concrete steps to be taken by the government for this purpose. In taking the steps, the government will further strengthen its cooperation with NGOs, fully aware that women’s development is not possible without their cooperation and participation.

Milestones in Women’s Policies in the Republic of Korea (1998-2001)

Year	Institutional Arrangements	Laws	Policies/Social Movements
1998	Presidential Commission on Women’s Affairs established Women’s Policy Unit in 6 Ministries established Center to Report Discrimination Against Women opened within the Presidential Commission on Women’s Affairs	Nationality Act revised Enforcement Ordinances of the Prevention of Domestic Violence and Victim Protection Act announced Special Act for Punishment of the Crime of Domestic Violence goes into force Draft Revision of the Civil Code announced Act on Punishment of Sexual Crimes and Protection of Victims thereof revised	Plan to establish daycares-at-work confirmed Women’s Crisis Hotline 1366 opened First Master Plan for Women’s Policies (1998-2002) goes into effect Assistance to the women forced into sexual slavery under the Japanese colonial rule extended to 31.5 million won per person Application of the women’s employment quota system extended (up to 20% by 1999) Measures to assist unemployed female household heads established Employment Insurance extended to workplace of 4 or less employees and temporary and part time workers “Engineering” and “Home Economics” integrated into a single required course for both boys and girls Comprehensive Plan to Prevent Domestic Violence formulated National Conference of Women Volunteers held by Presidential Commission Museum to honor the women forced into Japanese military sexual slavery established by House of Sharing
1999		Special Case Act for Punishment of Domestic Violence revised Gender Discrimination Prevention & Relief Act legislated 3rd Revision of the Equal Employment Act Act on Support of Women-owned Enterprises legislated 3rd Revision of Labor Standards Act Mother and Child Health Act revised Gender Discrimination Prevention and Relief Act goes into force Constitutional Court rules that the system of giving credit to veterans as unconstitutional	Rural Helper System introduced Military Academies begin admitting women National Association of Women Members of the Provincial Councils founded Basic Plan for Development of Female Civil Servants announced Report on Management of Female Human Resources in Public Sphere published Follow up plans for prevention of domestic violence formulated Prosecutor solely in charge of Domestic Violence instituted Guideline on investigation of sexual crimes and protection of victims at trials issued Korean Women Entrepreneurs Association established Women’s organizations launch National Campaign to Abolish the Family Head System, start collecting a million signatures

Year	Institutional Arrangements	Laws	Policies/Social Movements
2000		Provision on promotion of gender equal education newly introduced in Act on Education Political Party Act revised to introduce 30% quota for women in proportional representation Act on Protection of Youth from Sexual Exploitation goes into force Discriminatory provisions on inheritance rights abolished in National Pension Act, Act on Compensation and Assistance for National Veterans, Act on Compensation for National Independence Patriots	16th National Assembly Election, 16 Assemblywomen elected (5.9%) Citizens’ Coalition for Abolition of Family Head System launched by 113 organizations
2001	Ministry of Gender Equality established Committee on Gender Equality Promotion established Women’s Department established within National Police Agency National Human Rights Commission launched	National Human Rights Commission Act legislated Labor Standards Law revised Act on Assistance to Veterans revised Equal Employment Act revised to extend maternity leave to 90 days Maternal subsidy provision in Employment Insurance Act revised	Women’s Crisis Hotline1366, expanded to 16 cities and provinces Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry formulates 5 Year Development Plan for Women Farmers (2001-2005) Citizen’s Coalition for Abolition of Family Head System files suit with to Constitutional Court Ministry of Justice issues guideline on investigation of domestic violence cases Political parties reach agreement to revise Local Government Law to allocate 30 % women in proportional representation to local assemblies

Publicizing the Convention

Since ratifying the Convention in 1984, the government and women’s organizations have made strenuous efforts to publicize the Convention. In July 1998, a conference was held on the result of the Committee’s review of the country’s 3rd and 4th reports. At the conference, the government informed participants about how the Korean reports were reviewed and evaluated by the Committee, which recognized Korea as a model country for women’s development worldwide. In 1999, a seminar to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights was jointly held by the Korean Women’s Development Institute (KWDI) and Korea Women’s Hot-line, a leading NGO. In 2000, the Korea Women’s Associations United, an umbrella organization of women’s groups, held a symposium to commemorate the 20 years of the Convention, and published a booklet entitled “Ten Qs & As on CEDAW.” Also In 2000, KWDI compiled a report on the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action for wide distribution.

Fifth Periodic Report

This report describes the efforts of the Republic of Korea in implementing the Convention during the four years (1998-2001) after the fourth report was submitted. It attempts to objectively present the status of Korean women by explaining government policies to implement the articles of the Convention, discussing the shortcomings, and explaining ways to further improve the situation. For the purpose of comparison with the previous periods, the statistics of 1995, 1998, and 2000 are presented when necessary.

Article 1

Definition of Discrimination

The Equal Employment Act (revised in 2001) defines discrimination as follows: the term “discrimination” refers to acts by employees of applying different conditions for employment or work to workers or of taking any other disadvantageous measures against them without any reasonable grounds on account of gender, marital status or status in family, pregnancy, or child-birth, etc; maternity protection for workingwomen is not considered as discrimination under this Act; and temporary measures taken by the State, local governments or employers to give preferential treatment to a particular gender so as to counteract the effects of existing discriminatory practices are not considered discriminatory under this Act.

The Gender Discrimination Prevention and Relief Act legislated in February 1999 defines gender discrimination as “any act of differentiation, exclusion or limitation made without any reasonable grounds on account of gender in the enjoyment of the basic human freedom or in the exercise of rights in all the fields of political, economic, social, and cultural life”, and considers sexual harassment as a form of gender discrimination.

Indirect Discrimination

In the process of revising the Equal Employment Act in August 2001, the concept of “indirect discrimination” was made clear. The provision was made to state that although an employer may apply the same employment or working conditions, when there are noticeably fewer males or females who can satisfy the conditions and as a result the situation is deemed unfavorable to one gender, and the employer cannot prove that the conditions are fair, the situation is considered to be discriminatory.

Article 2

Status of Women under the Constitution

Article 11(1) of the Constitution stipulates the principle of equality between men and women in all the fields of life: “Every citizen is equal before the law. No person is subject to discrimination on the grounds of gender, religion or social status in all the fields of political, economic, social, and cultural life.” The principle of gender equality is further elaborated in individual equality provisions of the Constitution.

The equal rights guaranteed under the Constitution are protected in concrete ways in the political, economic, social and cultural fields of life by relevant laws including the Gender Discrimination Prevention and Relief Act, the Labor Standards Act, and the Equal Employment Act. Various forms of redress are provided when such rights are violated.

Gender Discrimination Prevention and Relief Act

The Gender Discrimination Prevention and Relief Act came into force in July 1999. The goal is two-fold: to prohibit gender discrimination in employment, education, the supply and use of money and goods, facilities and services, and in the implementation of laws and policies, as well as to protect the rights of the victims of gender discrimination.

In 2001, the Committee on Gender Equality Promotion under the Minister of Gender Equality was established by the revision of the Gender Discrimination Prevention and Relief Act. It investigates reported cases of alleged gender discrimination, determines whether gender discrimination has taken place, offers recommendations for adjustment and correction, files suits with the judiciary, and offers views and recommendations regarding revision of discriminatory laws and policies. It also formulates and distributes standards and guidelines on prohibiting gender discrimination.

When, as a result of its investigation, the Committee finds sufficient reason to recognize the act in question as gender discrimination, it decides that gender discrimination has taken place and recommends necessary measures for correction to the employer or head of the public agency in question. The necessary corrective measures include cessation of the discriminatory act, redress through the reinstatement of the original state or compensation for damages and other steps, education and plans to prevent recurrence, public announcements through the advertisement section of major daily newspapers, etc.

When, as a result of its investigation, the Committee recognizes that the act in question is in violation of the criminal penalty provisions of the related laws, it may report the case to the law enforcement agencies. Under certain conditions, it may provide financial assistance from the Women’s Development Fund for the ensuing lawsuit. Obstruction of the field investigation of the Committee without a justifiable reason can result in up to 2 years in prison or a fine of up to 10 million won.

A total of 614 cases of alleged gender discrimination were received by the Committee between July 1999 and January 2002, among which 202 cases were resolved through settlement, correction during investigation, mediation, and recommendation for correction. 285 cases were about sexual harassment and 237 cases were about discrimination in employment. In the beginning, employment-related cases were more numerous, but there has been an increase in the number of sexual harassment cases being filed. Currently, the latter is more frequent than the former.

The Committee consists of not more than 10 persons, including one standing member. The Minster of Gender Equality serves as chair and other members are appointed by the President at the request of the Minister of Gender Equality.

Along with the Act’s entry into force, two guidelines were issued: Standards for the Prevention of Gender Discrimination, which explain in detail what constitutes discrimination and/or sexual harassment; and Guidelines to Prevent Sexual Harassment in Public Institutions, which elaborate the content and methods of preventive education.

Labor Standards Act

At the time of the revision of the Labor Standards Act in February 1998, a provision was added to place restriction on the termination of employment for managerial reasons so as to prohibit gender discrimination when employers screen workers for dismissal, thus introducing a legal instrument to protect women from discriminatory lay-offs when companies restructure their work-forces.

Another revision of the Act that came into force in November 2001 changed the provision concerning overtime work, night shift, holiday shift and pre- and post-natal leave to be more compatible with the needs of women workers during pregnancy, childbirth and childcare. The key changes are that pregnant women and women within one year of childbirth as well as children under 18 years of age shall not be assigned to physically or ethically hazardous or dangerous work; women over 18 years of age who are not pregnant shall not be assigned to work that is detrimental to their reproductive health; worker consent is required when a woman over 18 years of age is assigned to work at night (10:00 pm - 6:00 am) and on holidays; assigning pregnant women and children under 18 years of age to work at night or on holidays is prohibited; women are entitled to 90-day maternity leave before and after childbirth, with at least 45 days of post-childbirth leave; the first 60 days of the 90-day leave should be paid leave. The revised Equal Employment Act of August 2001 provides for the remuneration for the remaining 30 days being paid from employment insurance. The Employment Insurance Act was also revised in August 2001 in order to provide the financial basis for the extension of paid pre- and post-natal maternity leave.

The Labor Standards Act contains penal provisions. A fine of up to 5 million won is imposed in the case of violation of the principle of equal treatment for men and women, and a maximum of 5 years in prison or a fine of up to 30 million won for violation of provisions on women’s protection.

The Labor Standards Act provides that a worker may request redress to the Labor Relations Commission under the Minister of Labor in relation to dismissal, lay-off, leave, suspension, transfer of posts, reduced salary or other kinds of punitive actions taken against him/her without justifiable reason. The Commission is quasi-judicial. After receiving the request for redress, it conducts investigation, determines the legality of the action in question, and decides to dismiss the requestor to order redress measures.

Equal Employment Act

The major outcome of the third revision of the Equal Employment Act in 1999 was as follows: the concepts of indirect discrimination and sexual harassment at work were introduced; the responsibility of the employer to provide education to prevent sexual harassment and to discipline the perpetrator was introduced; in cases of sexual harassment, the employer is prohibited from taking measures unfavorable to the victim in terms of employment with a fine of up to 5 million won; and the Minister of Labor, to ensure the effectiveness of the law, may, when necessary, make public findings about the status of its implementation and the outcome of other investigations.

The fourth revision of the Act in August 2001 made further elaboration: indirect discrimination was made to include such cases where, although an employer may apply the same employment or working conditions, when there are noticeably fewer males or females who can satisfy the conditions and as a result the situation is deemed unfavorable to one gender, and the employer cannot prove that the conditions are fair; the applicability of the Act was extended to include all businesses; a ban was placed on sexual harassment at the workplace, with a penalty of up to 10 million won in cases where the employer is the perpetrator; the state was made to provide for the wages for the additional 30 days after the 60-day paid leave for workers who use the pre- and post-natal maternity leave according to the Labor Standards Act and who are the beneficiaries of employment insurance and meet certain conditions; eligibility for the maternity leave was expanded from “working woman with a child under one year of age or the working spouse who takes her place” to all workers with a child under one year of age; a provision was added to prohibit the employer from dismissing a worker during maternity leave; and the position of “honorary equal employment inspector,” to be appointed at the joint recommendation of management and labor, was introduced.

Under the Act, an Equal Employment Committee is established in each local labor administration office. The Committee intervenes and mediates in disputes regarding the legal provisions on employment discrimination against women, maternity leave and child care facilities. The Act also provides autonomy in dispute resolution through complaint mechanisms established at the work places.

Act on the Protection of Dispatched Workers

The Act on the Protection of Dispatched Workers was legislated in February 1998 to provide guidelines to manpower supply firms and set the standards for the employment conditions of workers employed and dispatched by such companies. This Act prohibits employers from rescinding the contract on dispatched workers on account of their gender, religion, social status or trade union activities.

Gender Equality in the Education Act

The provisions in the Basic Education Act to promote gender equality in education are explained in Paragraph 130.

Eliminating Gender Discrimination in the Mass Media

The Broadcasting Act of January 2000 provides for the public duty of broadcasters to refrain from fomenting conflicts between regions, generations, social strata, and sexes. It refers to gender as one of the grounds that should not be used for discrimination in broadcasting programming.

The Act on Music Albums, Videos and Games of February 1999 provides thatwhen there is concern that a video material produced or imported for entertainment purposes contains content that could justify the abuse of women, it be subject to screening and classification.

The Enforcement Ordinance on the Registration of Periodicals was revised in June 1999 to introduce standards on harmful content for youth and social ethics, including content that distorts sex morals by encouraging sexual behavior with youth, depicting women only as sexual objects, etc.

Prohibiting Gender Discrimination in Penal Administration Law

The Penal Administration Law was revised in December 1999 to introduce a provision on the respect for human rights. The provision states that in the implementation of this law, the basic human rights of inmates or suspects in custody shall be respected as much as possible, and discrimination of inmates on account of nationality, gender, religion, or social status is prohibited. Thus, the first explicit reference to the prohibition of gender discrimination was made in the law.

Revision of the Discriminatory Provision on Family Leave in the National Civil Service Regulations

In December 1999, the provision on special family leave was changed to eliminate discrimination in defining the range of relations on the paternal and maternal sides. As a result, family leave for wedding or funeral is now granted to civil servants for the same range of relations on both the paternal and maternal sides.

Constitutional Court Rules Credit for Veterans Unconstitutional

The Veterans Assistance Act of December 1997 had provided for a system whereby veterans who finished military service were given an additional 3-5% of the full score for each written subject test in the Civil Service Examination for 6th rank or below, the Teachers’ Employment Test, and the employment test of the institutions that have a specified employment protection program. The system to protect the employment of veterans had been in force for almost 40 years. Since the late 1980’s, women’s organizations have raised questions as to the fairness of the system, since the system created discrimination in employment for those who had not served in the military and thus had a serious and negative impact on women’s advancement into the civil service.

In October 1998, a lawsuit was filed with the Constitutional Court against the system of granting additional credits for veterans for violation of the Constitutional provisions on equal rights, freedom of occupation and the right to work in public posts. In December 1999, the Constitutional Court of 9 judges made unanimously ruled that the provisions in question are in violation of equal rights and the right to work in public posts, and therefore unconstitutional. Following the ruling, the government revised the Veteran Assistance Act in January 2001 to eliminate the additional credits for veterans.

After the shelving of the additional credits for veterans, the number of women applying for and passing the civil service examinations has greatly increased. The proportion of female applicants in the recruitment test at the 7th rank increased by 7.1% from 17.3% in 1999 to 24.4% in 2000. The proportion of women in successful applicants increased 10.5% from 6.1% in 1999 to 16.6% in 2000. In the case of the recruitment test at the 9th rank, the proportion of female applicants increased by 3.5% from 44.6% to 48.1% in 2000, with the proportion of women among those passing the test increasing by 20.9% from 16.0% in 1999 to 36.9% in 2000. (Details in paragraph 116).

National Pension Act

The National Pension Act was revised in December 2000 to allow female offspring to continue to benefit from family pension even after marriage. The old provision reflected the Confucian concept of family, in which a woman was no longer viewed as a member of her maiden family upon marriage.

Act on Honorable Treatment of Citizens of Distinguished Service to Independence and Act on Compensation and Assistance to Citizens of Distinguished Service to the State

Based on the Confucian tradition, these two Acts had provided that married daughters or granddaughters may receive assistance provided by the Acts only when there are no other remaining family members and when there is no son in the father’s family. After the revision of December 2000, married daughters or granddaughters may receive the same assistance as other remaining family members.

Gender Equality in the Legal Proceedings

At present, there is no gender discrimination in the legal proceedings, as in court trials regarding the violation of rights.

Gender Equality in Criminal Law

There is no criminal law under the current Penal Code that constitutes discrimination against women.

National Human Rights Commission

The National Human Rights Commission Act of 2001 established the National Human Rights Commission, so as to strengthen protection of the inalienable basic human rights of all the individuals and to elevate the standards by which protection is carried out.

The Act spells out the basic task of the Commission: to investigate and provide redress in cases of human rights violation and discrimination. When a person is unfavorably treated, excluded, distinguished or discriminated against on the grounds of gender, religion, disabilities, age, etc., without any justifiable reason, in employment, in the supply or use of goods, services, transportation means, commercial facilities, land, housing, or in the use of educational facilities or vocational training institutions, the victim or a third person or an organization that is aware of the fact may present the case to the Commission. The Commission is an important instrument for redress in cases of gender discrimination.

Sex Ratio at Birth

The sex ratio of newborns shows that female infants have unequal opportunities to be born. As of 2000, the sex ratio at birth is 110.2, which is much higher than the normal sex ratio of 105-106. Such an abnormal tendency is stronger in the traditionally more conservative regions and also in the case of the lastborn. Such imbalance in sex ratio is attributed to gender discriminatory social attitudes and practices. The government has made efforts to address the attitudes of male preference. Recognizing the gravity of the problem of the growing imbalance in sex ratio, the Seoul Metropolitan City started a campaign in 1999 to celebrate the birth of the female infantby planting a tree. Although discriminatory practices such as fetal sex differentiation is illegal, detection and punishment is difficult, since these practices take place covertly in hospitals. (Paragraph 196 of the Fourth Periodic Report)

Sex Ratio at Birth by the Order of Birth (Number of Boys per 100 Girls)

Year	Total	Firstborn	Second Child	Third Child	Fourth Child and more
1995 1998 2000	113.2 110.1 110.2	105.8 105.9 106.2	111.7 108.0 107.4	177.2 145.6* 143.9*	203.9 - -

* The number for births after the third child

Source: National Statistical Office, Annual Report on the Vital Statistics (1979, 1989, 1999, 2000). Quoted in Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW), Women’s Health and Welfare: Situation and S tatistics(2001)

Article 3

National Machinery for Women: Ministry of Gender Equality (MOGE)

MOGE was established in January 2001 as the national machinery for women’s affairs, with the mission of promoting the status of women through the planning and coordination of women’s policies and the elimination of gender discrimination. The Ministry was preceded by the Presidential Commission on Women’s Affairs, which was a small administrative organ with limited authority. The replacement of the Commission by MOGE was a clear manifestation of the political will to promote gender equality as a national goal.

MOGE is charged with overseeing all gender-related policies. Supervising the implementation of the Women’s Development Act and the Basic Plan for Women’s Policies, managing the Women’s Development Fund, dealing with gender discrimination and sexual harassment, running education and publicity campaigns to promote gender equality, combating domestic violence, sexual violence and sex trafficking and prostitution, assisting women’s organizations and volunteer activities, expanding women’s political participation, and promoting international cooperation all fall under MOGE’s mandate.

Women’s Policy Units

At the time the Presidential Commission on Women’s Affairs was established in 1998, Women’s Policy Units were also established in six ministries – Justice, Government Administration and Home Affairs, Education and Human Resources Development (formerly Ministry of Education), Health and Welfare, Labor, and Agriculture.

The Women’s Policy Unit in the Ministry of Justice deals with the punishment and prevention of gender-based crimes. It formulates and implements detailed programs for the “Comprehensive Plan on Prevention of Domestic Violence”, conducts studies on domestic violence, and develops corrective programs for perpetrators. It also carries out policy studies related to trafficking, prostitution, and stalking, as well as the work of investigations exclusively assigned to gender-based crimes. It produces publications on women’s human rights and develops training programs for law enforcement personnel. It engages in research to identify discriminatory elements in various laws and surveys the treatment of female inmates in correctional facilitiesand develops vocational training programs for them.

The Women’s Policy Unit in the Ministry of Government Administration and Home Affairs works to expand the women’s employment quota in the civil service and women’s advancement into managerial positions in public posts. The Unit also keeps track of positions held by women in the civil service and assists in the development of capacity building programs for female civil servants. It also tries to strengthen gender awareness education at national and public training institutes and to spread the women civil servants’ complaint centers to all ministries and local governments. Since 1999, to encourage local governments, it has provided incentives to local administrative offices with outstanding record in active development of women’s policies.

With the renaming of the Ministry of Education as the Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development (MEHRD) in December 2001, the task of developing women’s human resources has gained prominence. The Women’s Policy Unit in the Ministry works to strengthen career/vocationalcounseling centers and develop career education program for middle and high school girl students. In order to strengthen the principle of gender equality in the content of education, it strives to eliminate discriminatory elements in textbooks and carries out research on ways to expand gender equality education. The Unit has formulated a plan to increase women’s participation in advisory committees of the MEHRD to up to 30%. It publishes booklets promoting gender equality for elementary and middle school teachers, incorporates gender equality awareness in teachers’ training courses, and actively encourages schools to include gender awareness education in their training programs.

The Women’s Policy Unit in the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) aims at legislating and revising laws, promoting gender equality awareness among health and welfare professionals, and expanding women’s social participation. In 2000, it began to implement a mid-to-long term plan in women’s health and welfare policies. It has identified nineteen discriminatory provisions in the laws related to the work of the Ministry. It has already revised some of them, and is continuing the efforts to revise the rest. It also evaluates the impact of health and welfare policies from the gender perspective. It has commissioned a research program to study women’s health problems at different stages of the life cycle, sponsored an international seminar on domestic violence, and formulated measures to forestall the disintegration of the family. It has prepared guidelines for gender mainstreaming in polices and in educational programs for civil servants at the National Health Institute.

The Equal Employment Bureau (formerly Women Worker’s Bureau) in the Ministry of Labor is in charge of policies on working women and women’s unemployment as well as the prevention of sexual harassment at work. Through the Women Workers’ Centers, in 1999, it provided employment training to 6,400 unemployed women family heads and paid monthly subsidies of 250,000-400,000 wonto each trainee. (The Centers were transferred to MOGE in 2001, and renamed Women’s Human Resources Development Centers.) In 1999, it provided over 100,000 jobs related to the computerization of the public sector to newly graduated women, encouraged the introduction of a 40% quota system for women in the recruitment of interns, and strengthened job placement services for women. In 2001, it formulated measures to assist women’s advancement into the labor market, to protect unemployed women family heads, and to develop women’s vocational capacities. In order to prevent sexual harassment at work, the Ministry provides continued publicity and education. In 2001, at companies with 50-99 employees, management and labor jointly undertook a voluntary review of education to prevent sexual harassment at work. The Ministry established Equal Employment Counseling Centers at Local Labor Offices and fifteen private organizations so as to strengthen counseling on employment discrimination and sexual harassment against women workers and to enhance the protection of victim’s rights.

The Women’s Policy Unit in the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry works to assist in the nurturing of healthy rural families and the development of rural communities in the Republic of Korea by enhancing the skills and expertise of women agricultural workers and their quality of life. It also tries to promote gender mainstreaming in the overall work of the Ministry. It develops various educational programs and systems for rural women and promotes measures to include more women in programs for agricultural development. In the five-year plan to train women agricultural workers formulated in 2000, the basic goal is to strengthen their managerial capacity in line with the changing agricultural environment of the new technology and information age and to enhance their socio-economic status through the fair evaluation of the role of women agricultural workers. In 2001, the Women Agricultural Workers Training Act was legislated, providing the foundation for the continuous implementation of policies to assist women workers in agriculture. To increase agricultural productivity and promote the quality of life of women agricultural workers, the Unit is taking measures to guarantee post-natal rest for their maternity protection and has introduced a program of work assistance for rural women. (Paragraph 229)

In 2001, the Women’s Office was newly established within the National Police Agency to effectively respond to crimes against women, such as domestic violence and sexual violence. The juvenile sections of local police agencies and the National Police Agency were also restructured and expanded into the women and juvenile sections. The women mobile investigation teams were transferred to the sections to specialize in and effectively respond to crimes against women such as sexual violence.

Restructuring of Korean Women’s Development Institute (KWDI)

In October 1998, as part of the overall restructuring of government-financed research institutes, the Korean Women’s Development Institute (KWDI) was reorganized with reduced staff and redirected towards greater focus on research. In 1999, in accordance with a new law on the establishment and management of government-financed research institutes, KWDI was placed under the Office of the Prime Minister.

Basic Plan for Women’s Policies

The first Basic Plan for Women’s Policies (1998-2002), established pursuant to the Women’s Development Act of December 1995, identified twenty policy tasks, as summarized in < Table 4 >. It was formulated through the participation of all government agencies and approved by a minister-level panel chaired by the Prime Minister, with input from civilian experts. Following the Plan, the national government and local governments formulated and implemented annual programs, and amended laws and systems to enhance the status of women. The assessment of the first Basic Plan(1998-2000) served as important reference in establishing the second Basic Plan (2003-2007).

Within the framework of the first Basic Plan, the government revised discriminatory provisions in various laws, along with the legislation of the Gender Discrimination Prevention and Relief Act in 1999. In the Labor Standards Act, a provision was added to prohibit employers from discriminating against women in recruitment (1998), and adjustments were made to the provisions on overtime, night shift, holiday shift and pre- and post-natal leave in order to help women maintain their jobs during pregnancy and child-rearing and to promote employment of women workers in general (2001). In particular, the extension of paid leave for childbirth to 90 days is a notable measure for maternity protection. In addition, the Nationality Act was revised to eliminate gender discrimination in nationality acquisition (1998), and the Republic of Korea withdrew its reservation on Article 9 of the Convention.

Twenty Policy Tasks in the First Basic Plan for Women’s Policies

Basic Strategies	Twenty Policy Tasks
To reform laws, systems, and practices and increase women’s representation	Eliminate discriminatory laws, systems, and attitudes in society
Expand women’s participation in policy making processes
To strengthen assistance for the expansion and stabilization of women’s employment	Consolidate the basis for equal employment opportunities
Promote women’s employment
Consolidate assistance for job-family dual responsibility of women workers
Improve working conditions of women workers
To build a system of education for women’s competitiveness	Strengthen conditions for equality in education
Actively train women professionals
Assist women’s lifelong education
To expand welfare services for women and their families	Improve women’s health and tackle the sex ratio imbalance of new born infants
Expand and improve child-care facilities
Protect the interests of and reduce the burdens on women agricultural and fishery workers
Enhance the welfare ofwomen needing protection
Enhance the welfare of elderly women
Eradicate violence against women
To consolidate the basis for women’s social and cultural activities	Promote women’s cultural activities
Support women’s volunteer activities and othercivic activities
Assist women’s organizations
To expand the role of women in international cooperation and in the process toward unification	Increase women’s international activities
Support women’s contribution to unification

In implementing the Basic Plan for Women’s Policies, an office in each local government was designated to cooperate closely with the national government in drafting and implementing programs and monitoring the level of women’s participation in public advisory committees at the local level.

In 1998, with the full-fledged introduction of local autonomy, the Bureau of Family Welfare that used to be in charge of women-related tasks at each local government was dissolved, and different regions sought creative ways in establishing new administrative set-ups. Today, in the majority of the sixteen provinces and metropolitan cities, women’s policy is closely linked with welfare and health policies. In a few local governments, such as the Seoul Metropolitan Government, the women’s policy unit exists as a staff committee rather than as a part of the vertical structure.

Budget for Women’s Development

Debate on ‘gender budgets’ has recently been introduced in the Republic of Korea. But, as yet, there is no separate calculation of women’s development budget in the general budgets of all the government ministries and agencies. The annual budget of the Presidential Commission on Women’s Affairs was about 14.2 billion won in 1999, and about 10.9 billion won in 2000 (approximately US$ 14 million). This was an increase from 1998. But excluding wages, standard expenses, contribution to the Women’s Development Fund, financing of KWDI, etc., the fund for programs and projects was 4.5 billion won. The annual budget of MOGE in 2001 was about 31.7 billion won (approximately US$ 240 million), reflecting the expansion in organization and staff size.

The Women’s Development Fund was established in 1996 to provide the financial resources for the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action (Paragraphs 54, 55 of the Fourth Periodic Report). The target is to raise a total of 100 billion won. As of the end of 2000, the national government has injected 23 billion won into the Fund. Some local governments and private organizations have also created funds for women’s development.

Article 4

Article 6 of the Women’s Development Act states that the national and local governments may take temporary special measures within reasonable bounds, as provided for by the relevant laws, to promote women’s participation in fields where it is noticeably low. The following represents such temporary special measures that the government has taken since 1998.

30% Quotas in the Political Parties Act

The revision of the Political Parties Act of February 2000 introduced a quota for women whereby at least 30% of the candidates on a party’s proportional representation list for the National Assembly must be women. The quota was first applied during the general elections in April 2000, where sixteen women were elected to the National Assembly, five from electoral districts and eleven from proportional representation. (Paragraph 111)

Increase in Women’s Participation in Government Committees

A priority task of the government has been to increase women’s participation in various government committees. The target of 30% set initially for 2005, was moved up to 2002, spurring the growth from 12.4% in 1998, to 17.6% in 1999, to 23.6% in 2000, and to 27.7% in 2001. The increase is of a similar rate for the central administrative agencies and local governments. However, the target has yet to be reached. It is not being observed in the newly established committees. Furthermore, in personnel-related committees that wield significant influence, women account for a low 11.5% of the membership. (Paragraph 116)

Target Rate of Women’s Participation in Government Committees

Classification	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2005
Original	15%	18%	20%	22%	25%	30%
Changed	20%	23%	25%	28%	30%

Source: MOGE, internal document (2001)

Expansion of Quota for Women’s Recruitment in Public Service

The system of establishing quotas for women was expanded two-fold in July 1998 and again in April 1999. In the first expansion, implementation of the target percentage of 20% was pushed up, coming into effect in 1999 instead of 2000 as originally envisaged, and quotas were also set up for lower level(rank 9) positions. In the second expansion, the duration of the quota system was extended from year 2000 to 2002, and technical positions also came under the system. As a result, the percentage of women entering various levels of public service increased to 19.9% in 1998, 13.7% in 1999, and 32.2% in 2000. (Paragraph 116)

Women’s Recruitment Quotas in Government

Year rank	2000	2001	2002
5th	20%	20%	20%
6·7th	20%	23%	25%
8·9th	20%	25%	30%

Ministry of Science and Technology’s Plan to Implement the Recruitment Target System for Women Scientists

In July 2001, the Ministry of Science and Technology announced the target of bringing women’s participation in the science and technology fields to 10% by 2003. As part of the goal, the Ministry has proposed to increase women’s share to 10% by 2003 and to 20% by 2010 in the annual batch of newly recruited researchers at government-financed research institutes in the fields of science and technology. It has also decided to include in its report to the National Science and Technology Commission, chaired by the President, updates on women’s recruitment in the science and technology areas, and to encourage research institutes to establish an office in charge of women’s issues. The decisions are being reflected in the Ministry’s drafting of a bill on the training of and assistance to women workers in the science and technology areas.

Article 5

Measures against Sexual Harassment in the Workplace

The revised Equal Employment Act of 1999 included new provisions that made it mandatory for the employer to provide education to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace, to discipline the offender, and to refrain from taking unfavorable measures against the victim. In 1999, the Gender Discrimination Prevention and Relief Act was legislated to prevent and provide redress in cases of gender discrimination and sexual harassment. (Paragraphs 14~20)

The number of complaints filed with the Ministry of Labor or MOGE has increased every year, as has the number of cases in which redress was provided to the victim. The Ministry of Labor received 19 cases from 19 workplaces (142 counseling sessions provided) in 1999, and 363 cases from 36 workplaces (389 counselingsessions provided) in 2000. Sexual harassment was found in 84 cases from 17 workplaces. At MOGE, of all cases filed, request for correction of sexual harassment at work increased from 20% in 1999 to 54% in 2000. The complaints of sexual harassment were mostly from private enterprises, accounting for 65%, and civil service employees and the employees of public institutions 15%, education facilities including universities 9%, hospitals 4%, and others, 7%. This shows that sexual harassment is widespread in various fields of society.

Women’s organizations and labor organizations have called for the revision of the Equal Employment Act, as it does not regulate sexual harassment committed by a third person, i.e. persons doing business at the workplace or customers from other companies. There is also opinion that the penalty for sexual harassment at the workplace is too lenient. Another flaw of the current law is that there are no provisions on sexual harassment by the employer. Furthermore, although there is a court case where the damage resulting from sexual harassment was recognized as injury at work, there is no provision for compensation by the employer to the victim. The Women’s Coalition for the Revision of the Labor Law has submitted a petition to address such deficiencies.

Sexual Harassment Prevention Education

Article 7 of the Gender Discrimination Prevention and Relief Act and Article 4 of the Enforcement Decree stipulate that heads of public institutions and employers should provide education to workers to prevent sexual harassment.

In 1999, out of the total 2701 agencies of the national and local governments, 2505 agencies (93%) provided education to prevent sexual harassment. In 2000, the Presidential Commission on Women’s Affairs sponsored a special education program to prevent sexual harassment for high school seniors. The Chairperson of the Commission provided the education to the Director General level officials of the national government.

MOGE maintains a roster of sexual harassment prevention education lecturers. As of December 2001, there are 253 lecturers on the roster. In December 2000, it commissioned KWDI to develop “The Standard Teaching Material for Education to Prevent Sexual Harassment”. In 2000, preventive education was provided for 366,892 persons at 3,609 institutions including the legislature, the judiciary, the administrative branch, the Constitutional Court, the National Election Commission, and local governments.

Gender Equality Education

Article 19 on family education of the Women’s Development Act stipulates that the national government and local governments shall make efforts to provide for gender equality education beginning in the home. Article 20 on school education calls upon the national government and local governments to promote the principle of gender equality in school education and to expand women’s education opportunities. Article 21 on social education provides that the national government and local governments shall make efforts to promote gender equality awareness education in training and education programs of public training institutions, social education institutes and industries. MOGE introduced the equal education curriculum at public training institutes, developed a program for the lecturers of gender equality, and provided training. MOHW and KWDI have also developed and implemented training programs to foster gender sensitivity among government officials.

In 2001, MEHRD recommended to educational administration training institutes that gender equality education program be included in the education and training programs for school administrators and teachers. Since then, it has offered guidance on the matter during the first quarter of the year as well as a review of the programs during the fourth quarter. It also advised teachers’ colleges and education colleges to introduce courses on gender equality education. It published a booklet on gender equality for distribution among parents. 75,000 copies of the booklet were sent to kindergartens in rural areas.

Enhancing Gender Sensitivity among Government Officials

With increased interest in gender mainstreaming among policymakers, education to promote gender sensitivity has been provided to government officials (Ministry of Government Administration and Home Affairs, MOHW, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, and Seoul Metropolitan City). In 2000, the Ministry of Government Administration and Home Affairs provided gender sensitivity education to 80 faculty members of the educational training institute for government officials.

Reducing the Burden of Traditional Customs on Women

To cultivate a culture of gender equality in the daily lives of the people, MOGE is carrying out a campaign to improve practices and norms in the following five areas: folk holiday rituals, house work, child rearing, children’s education, and dining out. The ministry also continues its project of giving public recognition to model cases of gender equality in action.

In 2001, in the days leading up to “Chuseok”, the traditional Korean fall harvest celebration holidays, MOGE joined hands with various women’s organizations under the slogan “Let housewives enjoy the holidays, too”, in projects designed to free women from the heavy household chores that traditionally befall upon them during folk holidays.

Women’s Week

The Women’s Development Act provides that the government shall designate one week a year as Women’s Week to enhance public interest in gender equality and women’s development, and that the national and local governments and public institutions shall carry out such activities as commemorative events, research projects and media campaignsduring the week.

In 2001, on the occasion of the 6th women’s week (July 1-7), MOGE, local governments and women’s organizations held nationwide events involving both men and women to celebrate the launching of MOGE and to promote gender equality in the daily lives of the people. Starting with a national relay that connected sixteen cities in a campaign to realize a culture of equality, the Ministry organized and hosted various programs, such as the Korean Women’s International Network Conference, a public hearing on legal measures against prostitution, and an event for elementary school students on the theme of gender equality.

In 2001, MOGE provided 100 million won (about US$ 80,000) to 22 projects organized by women’s organizations during the Women’s Week. Many of these were Internet-based projects. “Women’s Cyber Labor Court”, organized by Seoul Women’ Labor Union, drew citizen’s judgment on “Coercive date at work and stalking: Is it love or sexual violence?” On three Internet sites, the Korea Sexual Violence Relief Center opened a forum for cyber debates on the theme of sexual misconduct by public figures. The Seoul Chapter of the Korean Federation of Housewives Clubs launched a “Gender Equality Cyber Monitoring Group” to report on sexual harassment and gender discrimination that takes place on the Internet. YWCA organized a seminar on Internet venture businesses for female college students.

Gender Equality Charter for the 21st Century

In July 2001, MOGE proclaimed the “Gender Equality Charter for the 21st Century”. The basic aim is to promote the culture of equality and democracy, where men and women share responsibilities and roles in the family, women are not subject to discrimination or disadvantage due to childbirth and child-rearing, women have equal rights and opportunities with men in wages and employment, and disadvantaged groups of women including women with disabilities are provided active assistance.

Gender Equality Award

Since 2000, the government has been giving the Gender Equality Award to those among teachers, police personnel, and broadcast producers and others who are influential in shaping public perceptions for their contribution to strengthening gender equality awareness in society.

Eliminating Discriminatory Elements in Cultural Goods

Since 1998, the government has endeavored to establish criteria for evaluating cultural goods for discriminatory content. In December 1998, the Presidential Commission on Women’s Affairs distributed a guideline on improving gender awareness among mass media workers, and published a booklet entitled “The Media without Gender Discrimination: Invitation to the Society of Equality”. In 1999, it also completed the work of establishing evaluation criteria for discriminatory elements in mass media content. In 2000, the Ministry of Information and Communication provided 600 million won to document the extent of sexual violence taking place in cyber space, and to support efforts against it.

Article 6

Laws Related to Prostitution

In the Republic of Korea, prostitution is illegal under the Act on Prevention of Prostitution. In 2000, the Act on Protection of Youth From Sexual Exploitation was legislated to prohibit the sale of sex involving youth. In addition to criminal punishment, the Act provides for the public disclosure of the personal information of those who bought sex from youth, or coerced or mediated youth into prostitution. Accordingly, the identities of 169 persons were disclosed in August 2001. In addition, the Youth Protection Act protects youth from sexual exploitation in general.

MOGE announced a comprehensive set of measures to curb prostitution, to protect the victims and to strengthen public awareness about the ills of prostitution. As part of the efforts, the Ministry is studying ways to revise the Act on Prevention of Prostitution so as to enhance its effectiveness. Meanwhile, women’s organizations have prepared a draft bill on the punishment and prevention of the crime of prostitution. A public hearing was held on the bill, after which it was submitted to the National Assembly. The Ministry has also carried out a survey to document the extent of the problem in society. The number of people arrested in violation of the Act on Prevention of Prostitution increased from 1,304 persons in 1991 to 2,383 persons in 2000.

Protecting the Victims of Prostitution

Protection facilities and counseling services are provided to protect the victims of prostitution based on the Act on Prevention of Prostitution. Since the revision of the Act in 1995, the protection facilities have redirected their focus from vocational guidance to personality readjustment. As of 2001, there are 23 such protection facilities - ten middle-to-long term protection facilities and thirteen temporary protection facilities. Recently, with the enforcement of the Act on Protection of Youth from Sexual Exploitation, about 70 shelters for youth have been set up nationwide. Meanwhile, the number of women’s welfare counseling centers has been decreasing since 1998. As of 2001, there are 83 centers nationwide, staffed by 356 women counselors.

Number of Protection Facilities, Counseling Centers and Counselors

Year	Protection Facilities	Women’s Welfare Counseling Centers	Counselors
1996	12	92	406
1998	11	147	423
2001 (as of June)	23	83	356

Trafficking in Women

The Penal Code defines trafficking in persons, the victims of which are predominantly women, as a felony violating the legal interest of the individual, subject to aggravated penalty by special legislation because it is in violation not only of the life and body of the citizens but also of the basic ethics and order of society.

The Penal Code contains provisions that impose penalty on: abduction and allurement of minors (Article 287), harassment, adultery, abduction for profit (Article 288(1)), trafficking in women (Article 288(2)), abduction and transport abroad, allurement (Article 289(1)), and transport abroad of the trafficked person (Article 289(2)). Such crimes are subject to aggravated penalty according to the Act on Aggravated Punishment on Specific Crimes (Article 5(2), para. 4). The Child Welfare Act (revised in 2001) also has provisions against the sale of children (Article 29(5) and Article 40(1)), and the Act on Protection of Youth from Sexual Exploitation also provides for penalty when a juvenile is trafficked or transported domestically or abroad (Article 9).

The number of offenders involved in trafficking in persons taken in by the police increased from 611 in 1998 to 789 in 2000, but the number of arrests has decreased. Since August 2001, the National Police Agency has formed special task forces to eliminate trafficking in persons in all local police agencies nationwide. The task forces are at work throughout the year to eliminate criminal activities related to trafficking in persons. They are also taking active measures to block overseas criminal organizations from South East Asia, Russia, and Eastern Europe from penetrating into the country and linking up with domestic criminal organizations through strengthened cooperation with Interpol and overseas missions.

Number of Offenders Investigated for Trafficking, Abduction and/or Allurement

* number of arrests in parenthesis

Year	1998	1999	2000	2001 (as of June)
Offenders	611 (192)	567 (151)	789 (148)	342 (65)

Law against Sexual Violence

Legislated in 1994, the Act on the Punishment of Sexual Crimes and Protection of Victims was revised in 1998 to add a provision against taking pictures of another person’s body so as to arouse sexual desire or shame. (Paragraphs 82~84 of the Fourth Periodic Report)

Laws against Domestic Violence

There are two laws against domestic violence: the Special Act on Punishment of Domestic Violence and the Act on Prevention of Domestic Violence and Victim Protection. In January 1999, the Special Act was partially revised to include school teachers and principals in the list of people who must keep secrecy over information about the victims, so as to prevent perpetrator of domestic violence from gaining access to victims who are of school age.

Policies against Sexual and Domestic Violence

In November 1998, the Presidential Commission on Women’s Affairs and the Directors of Women’s Policies in six key Ministries jointly formulated a comprehensive set of measures to enhance the effectiveness of the laws. The major steps were: education for investigators, teachers, and counselors on the Special Act, publicity campaign about the Special Act through the media and information booklets, assistance to women’s organizations and other civic groups working to prevent domestic violence, exchange of information and private-public cooperation in investigating reported cases, and review of measures to supplement the shortcomings in the implementation of the laws.

Upon its launching in January 2001, MOGE declared as one of its major tasks the fight against domestic violence and sexual violence. It prepared a comprehensive set of measures against violence against women. The measures included increased government’s support for counseling centers for sexual violence and domestic violence as well as shelters for victims. Also included were strengthened assistance to victims of sexual violence for recovery from the mental trauma and prompt legal recourse, as well as expanded budget for publicity through the media on sexual violence and domestic violence and for the development of preventive education programs and distribution of educational materials.

Efforts to combat Sexual and Domestic Violence

Despite the efforts of the government and women’s organizations, reported cases of sexual violence and domestic violence continue to increase. In 2000, 9,775 cases of sexual violence and 12,983 cases of domestic violence were reported. The numbers have increased since the laws went into force. Given the nature of the violence and the tendency of the victims not to report the crimes, it is presumed that sexual violence and domestic violence are more prevalent in society than the recorded numbers indicates. Also to be noted are the new kinds of violence, such as cyber sexual violence on the Internet, which is of particular concern in a highly wired country like the Republic of Korea.

Number of Reported Cases of Sexual Violence

Year Classification	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000
Total	6,093	7,026	7,067	7,846	8,565	9,775
Rape	4,844	5,580	5,627	5,978	6,359	6,855
Others	1,249	1,446	1,440	1,868	2,206	2,920

Note: 1) “Rape” includes all crimes provided for in the chapter on “crimes againstchastity” in the Penal Code.

2) The numbers for “Others” began to be recorded in April 1994 when the Act on the Punishment of Sexual Crime and Protection of Victims came into force.

Source: National Police Agency (2001), White Paper on Police.

Number of Reported Cases of Domestic Violence

Classifica- tion Year	Occur- rences	Numberof Persons Apprehended	Result
Arrests	Punishment without Arrest	Others (warning)
1998	3,685	4,002	498	3,491	13
1999	11,850	12,719	868	11,804	47
2000	12,983	14,105	678	13,380	47

Note:The numbers for 1998 are from July 1 when the Special Act for the Punishment of Domestic Violence came into force.

Source: National Police Agency (2001), White Paper on Police.

Twice a month since October 1998, the National Police Agency has provided education to police officers on the laws, procedures in responding to reports, and steps to protect the victims. In December 1998, it conducted a nationwide test of police officers for their knowledge of the laws. The Special Act on Punishment of Domestic Violence is taught as a course in the curricula of such educational facilities as the Police Academy.

Number of Police Officers in Education Program on Domestic Violence

Educating Agency Year	Total	Local Police Agency	Police Station
Programs	Persons	Programs	Persons	Programs	Persons
1999	5,679	931,877	228	76,449	5,451	855,428
2000	4,609	584,797	120	43,909	4,489	540,888

In 2001, the Women’s Office was newly established in the National Police Agency to effectively respond to crimes against women such as domestic and sexual violence, and the juvenile sections of the Agency and local police agencies were expanded and restructured to the women and juvenile sections. The women’s mobile squad was transferred to the women and juvenile section, to work as the investigation team solely in charge of crimes against women such as sexual violence.

In September 1999, the Ministry of Justice introduced the post of a special prosecutor on domestic violence within the public prosecutor’s offices nationwide to be in charge not only of domestic violence cases but also of sexual violence cases involving children, including incest. In August 2000, a set of guidelines for investigation of domestic violence was sent to all public prosecutor’s offices nationwide. The guidelines instruct law enforcement personnel to take speedy and appropriate measures against the perpetrators of domestic violence through the active use of emergency measures, temporary measures and transfer to the family court under the Special Act on Punishment of Domestic Violence, as well as to assist in protecting the victims by guiding them to counseling centers and protection facilities under the Act on Prevention of Domestic Violence and Victim Protection.

The Legal Research and Training Instituteintroduced a 1-2 hour course on “Women and Human Rights” in the introductory and expert training course for newly-recruited prosecutors and staff. As of September 2000, the course has provided education on sexual violence and domestic violence to 2,489 persons. In February 2000, the Ministry of Justice sent out a guideline to all public prosecutor’s offices on active training and mobilization of women investigators. The Seoul Public Prosecutor’s office gave priority to appointing women investigators to domestic violence and sexual violence cases.

In September 2000, the Office of Women’s Policies of the Ministry of Justice established a system of cooperation with counseling centers run by civil society during the course of investigating domestic violence cases. Accordingly, for example, the prosecutor in charge of domestic violence of the Juvenile Division of the Seoul Public Prosecutor’s Office can guide the victims or perpetrators to a counselor and take into account the report of the counselor in prosecuting the case.

In February 1999, the Supreme Public Prosecutor’s Office sent to all public prosecutor’s offices and police stations a guideline on protecting the victims of sexual crimes during the course of the investigation and trial. The guideline prescribes the basic attitude of investigators and court authorities, steps to protect the victim at the scene of the crime and during subpoena, and points to keep in mind about the environment and method of investigation and court proceedings.

Protecting the Victims of Sexual and Domestic Violence

The number of counseling centers and protection facilities has been increasing since the laws on sexual violence and domestic violence came into force. As of November 2001, there are 91 sexual violence counseling centers and 128 domestic violence counseling centers, and seven shelters for sexual violence victims and 29 for domestic violence victims, four of which serve victims of both sexual violence and domestic violence. Most of these facilities and centers are run by civic organizations. Some receive financial assistance from the government.

Number of Sexual Violence and Domestic Violence Counseling Centers and Protection Facilities

Classification Year	Sexual Violence	Domestic Violence
Counseling Centers	Shelters	Counseling Centers	Shelters
1996	13	3	-	-
1998	43	5	66	15
2001	73	8	128	28

In the first year after the implementation of the laws, the demand for counseling services did not go up significantly. But with the increase in counseling centers and facilities in the following years, the number of cases referred to the centers had also greatly increased. As of 2000, counseling was provided in 28,670 sexual violence cases and in 75,723 domestic violence cases.

The number of people using shelters has been increasing as well. In particular, the number of people using shelters for domestic violence victims has surged. In 2000, 93 persons received protection at seven shelters for sexual violence victims. In domestic violence, 2,681 persons were taken in by 27 facilities, and many of them were women who had not had access to help prior to the passage of the law.

For medical assistance, in 1998 100 medical facilities were designated as focal points for the treatment of the victims of sexual violence. Since 2001 emergency treatment costs and examination fees have been subsidized. In October 2001, emergency centers for victims of sexual violence were opened at seven large hospitals including the National Police Hospital.

In January 1998, a women’s crisis hotline “1366” went into service around the country to provide information, counseling, and protection services to victims of sexual violence, domestic violence, and trafficking. After the launching of MOGE in 2001, the assistance was restructured into a one-stop service system, as the Women’s Emergency Hotline 1366, centering around the 16 cities and provinces.

In 2001, MOGE’s budget for its work against violence against women was almost 3.2 billion won: 1.3 billion for the fight against prostitution, 1.7 billion against sexual violence, 1.2 billion against domestic violence, and about 350 million for the Women’s Emergency Hotline 1366. In addition, in 2001, 18% of the project funding from the Women’s Development Fund, or 280 million won, was used for activities to curb cyber sexual violence and for research on the situation of the victims of the past military sexual slavery by Japan.

Protection and Assistance for Women Drafted for Military Sexual Slavery by Japan

In 1993, the Act on Assistance to Former Draftees of Japan’s Military Sexual Slavery was legislated to help stabilize the livelihood of these elderly women. Accordingly, to each victim, a one-time assistance of 43 million won and a monthly subsidy of 500,000 won is being paid. Additional living expense allowances and medical protection allowances are also provided, along with the option of being buried in one of the national cemeteries. (Paragraph 99 of the Fourth Periodic Report) As of 2001, 206 former sexual slaves of the Japanese military were registered, of whom 61 have passed away.

MOGE has carried out studies on the situations of the women who had been drafted for military sexual slavery by Japan, published their testimonies, and made efforts to add greater accuracy to the way they are depicted in history textbooks of middle and high schools. For teachers, the Ministry is also developing teaching materials on the situation of the victims, the historical facts about the atrocity, and the pivotal role played by civic groups in addressing the plight of these women.

Number of Women covered by the Act on Assistance to Former Draftees of Japan’s Military Sexual Slavery

	Survivors at the end of the previous year	Registered	Deceased	As of the end of the year
Newly registered	Total	Yearly deaths	Total
1996	158	6	179	5	20	159
1998	154	5	190	6	37	153
2000	147	6	200	10	57	143

Article 7

The Constitution and the relevant laws guarantee the equal rights of men and women for participation in political and public life, including the right to vote, to participate in political parties, non-governmental organizations and associations, and to run for and hold public office.

Women Voters

During the current reporting period, the number of women voters was a little higher than that of men, but their voting rates were a little lower than those for men. During the 16th National Assembly election on April 13, 2000, there were 17,045,456 eligible female voters (50.9% of total) and 16,436,931 male voters (49.1% of total). But the voter turnout of female voters was 56.5%, 2.2% lower than 58.7% of the males.

Voter Turnout (% of Eligible Voters) by Region and Gender in Three Elections

Region Election	Nation-wide	Seoul	Metro- politan Cities	Province
Total	Small and Medium Cities	Eup (towns)	Myon (villages)
16th National Assembly Election (April 13, 2000)	Male	58.7	57.0	55.4	60.5	57.3	62.8	68.2
Female	56.5	53.3	53.7	58.6	54.7	61.1	67.9
Second Local Election (June 4, 1998)	Male	54.3	49.0	48.0	59.6	55.1	62.7	71.9
Female	52.1	45.9	46.6	57.7	53.0	60.0	70.9
15th Presidential Election (December 18, 1997)	Male	81.3	81.4	80.8	81.5	81.5	81.0	81.6
Female	80.1	80.3	82.2	79.9	80.2	79.1	79.6

Source: National Election Commission (2000), Analysis of Voter Turnout in the 15th National Assembly Election

National Assembly

Women’s participation in national politics remains low. Out of 299 members, only nine (3.0%) were women in the 15th National Assembly (1996-2000). In the 16th National Assembly (2000-2004), 16 out of 273 (5.9%) are women. The increase in the 16th National Assembly is attributed to the revision of the Political Parties Act, which introduced a 30% quota for women candidates in the proportional representation. Furthermore, the political parties fielded more women candidates than before to electoral districts, and voters were more active than before in supporting women candidates. The 30% quota for women candidates in the proportional representation was the result of civic activism spearheaded by the Women’s Alliance for Quota, formed by 101 organizations. (Paragraph 63)

Women in the National Assembly

	Total membership	Number of Women (% of total )	Number of locally elected women members (% of total )	Number of proportional representation women members (% of total )
15th National Assembly (1996 ∼ 2000) 16th National Assembly (2000 ∼ 2004)	299 273	9 (3.0) 16 (5.9)	2 (0.8) 5 (2.2)	7 (15.2) 11 (23.9)
Source: 1) Korean Women’s Development Institute ( 2001 ) , Analysis of Women’s Political Participation Since Independence and Future Tasks 2) National Election Commission, 12th-15th National Assembly Elections Almanac

Local Councils and Governments

In the 1998 local elections, the percentage of women among candidates running for administrative heads of Si-Gun), which are the basic local government units, was 1.2%. Women’s share of candidacies in the metropolitan city and Do council elections was 2.3% in electoral districts and 30.0% in proportional representation. Their share in the basic district Si-Gun council elections was 1.8%.

The local elections in 1998 were to elect: the mayors and governors of 7 metropolitan cities and 9 Dos(provinces); heads of the basic administrative districts of Gu (districts in large cities), Si and Gun; metropolitan city and Do council members; and the Gu/Si/Gun council members. The proportion of women elected was 2.2%. There was no woman candidate for mayor or governor, and no woman was elected as head of the basic district local governments. However, in the local by-elections in 2000, one woman was elected as head of Gu administration. Regarding the metropolitan city and Do councils, women accounted for 2.3% of the elected in electoral districts and 36.5% of the proportional representation, for an average of 5.9% of the total elected. In the elections of the basic district Gu council members, women accounted for 1.6% of those elected. The low representation of women in the local governments and councils reflects the lack of voters’ interest in women candidates and the passive stance of political parties in supporting them.

Number of Women Elected in the First and Second Local Elections

Elections Positions	First Elections (1995)	Second Elections (1998)
Total	Women	% of total	Total	Women	% of total
Total	5,756	128	2.3	4,427	97	2.2
Mayor and Governor	15	0	0.0	16	0	0.0
Heads of Gu,Si, and Gun Administration	230	1	0.4	232	0	0.0
Metropolitan City and Do Councils	Total	970	55	5.7	690	41	5.9
Electoral District	875	13	1.5	616	14	2.3
Proportional Representation	95	42	44.2	74	27	36.5
Gu, Si, Gun Councils	4,541	72	1.6	3,489	56	1.6
Source: National Election Commission , First Local Election s (1995); Second Local Elections (1998)

Administrative Branch

As of November 2001, there are two women ministers (Environment and Gender Equality), accounting for 11.1% of cabinet posts in the national government. In meeting the rising call for a greater presence of women in the high levels of government, presidential candidates, since the 13th Presidential Election in 1987, made campaign pledges about increasing the number of women in the cabinet. At the time of its inauguration in 1998, the administration of President Kim Dae-jung appointed two women to the cabinet (Health and Welfare, Culture and Tourism) and one woman to the ministerial level post of chairperson of the Presidential Commission on Women’s Affairs. But there was no woman in the 61 vice-ministerial positions. As of 2001, there is only one (Labor) out of the total of 68 vice ministers.

Number of Women in the Cabinet of the National Government

Year	Total Number of Ministers	Number of Women Ministers	Percentage of total
1995	24	1(Political Affairs II)	4.2
1998*	17	2(Culture and Tourism, Health and Welfare)	11.8
2001	18	2(Environment, Gender Equality)	11.1

* The 1998 figures do not include the Chairperson of the Presidential Commission on Women’s Affairs, which was a ministerial level post.

As of December 2000, there are 267,647 women public servants, accounting for 31.5% of the 849,152 in total. In the administrative branch, there are 263,871 women, accounting for 31.7% of the 833,609 in total. There are 561 women (41.0%) among the 1,368 in total in the legislative branch, 2,817 women (23.0%) among the 12,222 in total in the judiciary branch, 52 women (29.7%) among the 175 in total in the Constitutional Court, and 346 women (19.5%) among the 1,778 in total in the National Election Commission. Women account for 35.6% of public servants in the national government and 25.0% in the local governments. In terms of rank, women account for 1.4% of the first, second and third ranks, and 3.7% of the fifth rank and above, showing an increase from 1.1% and 2.3% respectively in 1995.

Number of Women Public Servants in 5th Rank or above General Posts

	Total	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th
Total	30,059	73	420	1,063	6.807	21,696
Women	1,115	0	2	20	170	923
Accumulated % of Women	3.7	0	0.5	1.9	2.5	4.3

Source: Ministry of Government Administration and Home Affairs(2001),Statistics on Women Public Servants in the Statistical Yearbook

The government has made various efforts to promote equality for women in public service and to more effectively develop and utilize their abilities. Women accounted for 21.3% of those who passed the 9th rank administrative and public safety post examinations in 1998, and 37.4% in 2000. The figure for 1998 represented a decrease from previous years, reflecting the surge in male applicants for the exams during the economic crisis that hit the country in 1997. In 1996, the government had introduced quotas for women’s recruitment. In December 2000, the system of giving credit for military service was eliminated. (Paragraphs 35~37, 65)

Number of Women in Successful Applicants in the Examinations for the 9th Rank Administrative and Public Safety Positions

Year	1995	1998	2000
Total	1,281	910	2,704
Women(% of Total)	413(32.2)	194(21.3)	1,014(37.4)

Source: Ministry of General Affairs (1995, 1998) , Statistical Yearbook.

Ministry of Government Administration and Home Affairs (2000), Statistical Yearbook.

The Judiciary

In the judiciary, there were 118 women judges, or 7.5% of the total of 1,567 judges in December 2000. This is a slight increase from the 99 women judges in 1998 (7.2%). As to the prosecutors, as of 2001, there were 67 female prosecutors, or 4.9% out of the total of 1,367 prosecutors. This is a significant increase from only 17 female prosecutors (1.5%) in 1998.

Number of Women Judges and Prosecutors

Year	Judges	Prosecutors
Total	Women	% of total	Total	Women	% of total
1995	1,239	61	4.9	946	10	1.1
1998	1,369	99	7.2	1,112	17	1.5
2000	1,567	118	7.5	1,111	28	2.5

Source: Ministry of General Affairs, Yearbook 1993, 1994, 1995.

Ministry of Government Administration and Home Affairs, Statistical Yearbook (1999) and Internal Documents.

Government Committees

As of December 2001, there are 1,231 committees with 16,393 members under the administrative branch of the national and local governments, established and operated according to the relevant laws and statutes. In them, there are 4,547 women members (27.7%), representing a steady increase from 2.2% in 1984, 5.5% in 1992, 7.0% in 1995, and 23.6% in 2000.

Women’s Participation in National and Local Government Committees

	Number of Committees	Total Number of Members	Number of Women Members	% of Women in Total
Total	1,231	16,393	4,547	27.7
National Government Committees	260	4,210	1,046	24.8
Local Government Committees	971	12,183	3,501	28.7

Source: Ministry of Gender Equality, Internal document (2001).

To further expand women’s participation in various committees, the government will consolidate the data base on women experts in the field of science, construction, transportation and defense, which are areas traditionally marked by low rate of women’s participation. It also plans to promote a focusedmanagement of the more influential committees such as Regulatory Reform Committee and Public Officials Ethics Committee so as to keep a close track of the qualitative aspect of women’s participation.

Political Parties

Although women constitute the majority in political party membership, there are extremely few women in decision-making posts in the political parties. The fact directly translates into the low representation of women in the National Assembly. Women’s participation in the major party posts has more or less increased, but the presence of women in the higher ranking posts is still nominal. As of May 2000, women account for 0-30%, depending on the levels, in the party leadership positions of the three major political parties, with the average being around 10%. However, there are almost no women in such influential posts as Secretary General, Floor Leader, or Policy Chair. Women are mainly concentrated in the less important posts or women-related committees. Women have a token presence in the party affairs committees, vice presidencies or as vice spokespersons, but without much impact.

Percentage of Women in Political Party Posts

Party Posts	Millennium Democratic Party	Grand National Party	United Liberal Democrats
Member	+ 50% (1.5 mil.estimated total membership)	Not confirmed	+ 50% (1.5 mil. estimated total membership)
Party AffairsCommittee	14.6%(6 out of 41)	5.5%(3 out of 55)	3.1%(2 out of 63)
ViceChairperson	13.3%(2 out of 15)	18.2%(2 out of 11)	33.3%(3 out of 9)
Members of 16thNationalAssembly	7.8%(9 out of 115)	4.5%(6 out of 133)	0%(0 out of 17)
Heads of Party Local Chapters	2.7%(6 out of 225)	2.2%(5 out of 225)	1.8%(3 out of 170)
Source: KWDI (2000), A Research on the polic ies of Political Parties to Increase Women in Leadership Positions

Article 8

The government has appointed women as delegates to various United Nations meetings as well as to meetings held by other international organizations.

In 2000, Hye Soo Shin, President of the Korea Women’s Hot-line, was elected to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women for the 2001-2004 term with the active support of the government.

In 1997, the government compiled a list of women experts in various fields of international cooperation, to be utilized when sending representatives to international meetings and when recommending Korean nationals to positions in international organizations. Since 1996, the government has operated the Junior Professional Officer (JPO) program, under which young persons are selected to work for international organizations with full financial support from the government for up to two years. By 2001, 24 persons were selected through the JPO exam, 18 of whom were women. Meanwhile, since 1998, MOGE runs as internship program for young women aspiring towards careers in international affairs. In 2001, 15 interns were selected for training in international conferences and international organizations. In 1999 and 2000, the Presidential Commission on Women supported the Korean Institute for Women and Politics, a private research organization, in staging mock meetings of the UN Commission on the Status of Women.

As of October 2001, in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, out of the total 1,181 officials in the 5th rank and above positions, 63 (5.4%) are women.As of October 2000, of the 199 Korean nationals employed at 28 international organizations, 47 (23.6%) are women. Since becoming a member of the United Nations in 1991, the government has actively promoted women’s advancement into the UN Secretariat. Of the total of 25 Korean nationals working at the UN Secretariat, nine are women (36%).

Number of Women in the Foreign Service (5th rank and above)

	Total Foreign Service Officials	Number of Women	Percentage
Oct. 2000	1,187	62	5.2
Oct. 2001	1,180	63	5.4

Article 9

The revision of the Nationality Act in 1998 eliminated gender discriminatory elements in the previous version to ensure gender equality in the acquisition of nationality. Accordingly, in August 1999, the government withdrew its reservation to article 9 of the Convention.

Nationality of the Spouse

A foreign national who marries a Korean citizen can acquire Korean nationality after residing in Korea more than two years after marriage and gaining permission from the Minister of Justice for naturalization.

Married women now have the right to choose their own nationality, with the repeal of provisions under which a wife automatically and involuntarily acquired Korean nationality upon acquisition of the same nationality by her husband, and under which married women were prohibited from obtaining naturalization without their husbands also being naturalized.

Nationality of Children

In the past, a child could obtain Korean nationality only if the father was a Korean citizen at the time of the child’s birth. After the revision, a child born to either a Korean father or mother can obtain Korean nationality. For children born to Korean mothers before the revision and therefore denied Korean nationality, recourse is available through application for Korean nationality until 2004.

Article 10

Right to Equal Education

Article 31 of the Constitution and Article 3 (Right to Learn) and Article 4 (Equal Opportunity for Education) of the Basic Education Act provide that every citizen has the right to learn throughout life and receive equal education according to one’s capacity and aptitude without gender-based discrimination.

In January 2000, a provision on “promoting equal education for men and women” was newly added to the Basic Education Act to state clearly that the national and local governments should formulate and implement policies to more actively realize the principle of gender equality in education. The provision was followed up by an executive ordinance which states that the policies should include steps to strengthen women’s education in such fields as physical education, science and technology, where women have traditionally been left out, and that a committee on gender equality education be established to review the effectiveness of policies to promote gender equality in school education.

In February 1998, the Office for Women’s Education was established in the Ministry of Education. (Paragraph 50)

Equality in Formal Educational Opportunities

Boys and girls are equally entitled to nine years of free, compulsory education. (Paragraph 121 of the Fourth Periodic Report)

As of 2001 the enrollment rate in kindergarten for girls is 38.6%, which is higher than the rate of 37.7% for boys, and there are almost no gender differences in enrollment rates in elementary and middle schools. In the case of higher education, 43.7% of women in the appropriate age bracket are enrolled, compared to 74.9% for men. Although the college enrollment rate increase is similar for both, the female enrollment rate remains lower than that of male’s by 30%, indicating that the gap still exists between men and women in opportunities for higher education.

Male/Female Enrollment Rate (% of all children in appropriate age group) at Each Level of School

Year	Kindergarten	Elementary School	Middle School	High School	College
Female	Male	Female	Male	Female	Male	Female	Male	Female	Male
1995	40.2	40.0	100.6	101.9	100.9	100.3	89.4	90.3	23.6	50.0
1998	37.5	40.0	98.8	97.9	99.9	99.9	95.3	95.9	37.5	67.8
2001	38.6	37.7	97.3	95.9	98.1	98.0	95.0	95.6	43.7	74.9

Note	*	College includes teacher’s colleges, 4 year universities, and junior colleges
	*	Age groups: kindergarten 4-5 years of age, elementary school 6-11 years, middleschool 12-14 years, high school 15-17 years, college 18-21 years.

Source: National Statistics Office (1997), Future Population Trend.

MEHRD,Yearbook of Educational Statistics, 1995, 1998, 2001.

Almost all boys and girls advance to middle school after graduating from elementary school, and to high school after graduating from middle school. In 2001, 67.6% of girls and 73.1% of boys advanced to college after graduating from high school. The gender gap was 5.5% points. After graduating from college, 7.5% of women and 10.8% men advanced to graduate school.

Advancement Rate (% of graduates entering next level of school) by Gender and Level of School

Year	Elementary→Middle	Middle→High	High→College	College→Graduate
Female	Male	Female	Male	Female	Male	Female	Male
1995	99.9	99.9	98.4	98.6	49.8	52.9	6.4	9.7
1998	99.9	99.9	99.5	99.5	61.6	66.4	14.4	13.4
2001	100.0	99.9	99.6	99.5	67.6	73.1	7.5	10.8

Note: College includes junior colleges, teachers’ colleges, and 4-year universities.

Source: MEHRD, Yearbook on Education al Statistics, 1995, 1998,2001.

Gender Distinction in College Admission Procedures

In October 2000, MOGE conducted an investigation into an aspect of college admission procedure that has been maintained since 1977, regarding the set number of students by gender for admission for applicants in arts and physical education majors. As a result of the investigation, it advised eight universities including Seoul National University to do away with the practice, and the universities have done so.

Educational Achievements

The number of women acquiring academic degrees has continuously increased.As of 2001, women account for 47.7% of those with bachelor’s degrees, 34% of those with master’s degrees, and 23.8% of doctorate degree holders. Over the years, the gender gap has decreased significantly for bachelors, but has increased for masters and doctors.

Number of Academic Degree Holders by Gender

Year	Bachelor’s Degree	Master’s Degree	Ph.D. Degree
Number of Degree Holders	Degree Holders Per 10,000 Persons	Number of Degree Holders	Degree Holders Per 10,000 Persons	Number of Degree Holders	Degree Holders Per 10,000 Persons
Total	% of women of total	men	women	Total	% of women of total	men	women	Total	% of women of total	men	women
1995	209,113	42.0	47.29	33.66	27,398	28.4	8.76	3.50	4,107	16.9	1.52	0.31
1998	239,387	42.6	50.26	36.20	34,875	30.3	10.38	4.59	4,999	19.8	1.71	0.43
2001	290,798	47.7	63.29	58.64	53,109	34.0	14.59	7.63	6,221	23.8	1.97	0.63

Note: Bachelor’s degree holders include graduates of teachers colleges, 4- year universities, the open u niversity, and industrial colleges.

Source: National Statistical Office, Population Pro j ection , 1995, 1998, 2001

KWDI (2000), Statistical Yearbook on Women

MEHRD (2001), Yearbook on Education al Statistics .

Educational Curriculum

There had been no gender difference in subjects or credit hours taken in schools under the unified educational curriculum system, with the exception of the subjects “Industry” and “Home Economics”, which had been taught separately to middle school boys and girls respectively. In the 7th Educational Curricula which began to be applied to elementary schools in 2000, middle schools in 2001 and high schools in 2002, the two subjects were integrated and required for both boys and girls. In addition, “Agricultural Science,” “Engineering Technology,” “Business Management,” “Marine Science,” “Home Science,” and “Information Society and Computer” have become electives offered to both boys and girls.

Co-education

All public elementary schools are co-ed, and the government is trying to expand co-education in secondary schools so as to promote gender equality not only in opportunity for education but also in the conditions of education such as the curriculum and teaching methods. Accordingly, the number of co-ed middle and high schools has rapidly increased. The government advises the superintendents of education of cities and provinces to seek measures to assist co-ed schools. The government also recommends co-education when a new school is being established or when existing schools redraw plans for student recruitment. As of 2001, 95.1% of colleges and universities are co-ed as former women’s colleges have increasingly become co-ed.

Number of Co-ed and Segregated Schools (% of total in parenthesis)

Year	Middle School	High School	College
Co-ed	Segregated	Co-ed	Segregated	Co-ed	Segregated
Male	Female	Male	Female	Male	Female
1995	1,536 (57.2)	599 (22.3)	548 (20.4)	814 (44.5)	511 (27.9)	505 (27.6)	261 (90.9)	1 (0.4)	25 (8.7)
1998	1,622 (59.3)	583 (21.3)	531 (19.4)	917 (47.7)	491 (25.6)	513 (26.7)	317 (94.1)	1 (0.3)	19 (5.6)
2001	1,786 (64.5)	518 (18.7)	466 (16.8)	1,055 (53.6)	428 (21.7)	486 (24.7)	332 (95.1)	1 (0.3)	16 (4.6)

Source: MEHRD, Yearbook on Education al Statistics, 1995, 1998, 2001.

Textbooks

In developing the 7th Educational Curricula, the government made sure that prejudices against gender roles were weeded out of textbooks and that gender equality was incorporated into all subject areas. In particular, the frequencies with which male and female characters appear in illustrations were made equal, and traditional gender role stereotypes were eliminated from all textbooks.

Sex Education and Gender Equality Awareness Education

In order to nurture healthy sex morals in youth based on gender equality, the MEHRD has established a system of sex education that encompasses all levels of formal education from kindergarten to high school. In October 1998, the Ministry formulated a basic plan on sex education in school. The following month, an advisory committee on sex education was formed under the Minister. Following the plan, each school designated an instructor in charge of sex education. In March 2001, schools at various levels were required to provide ten hours of sex education to their students. Five manuals on sex education, reflecting different stages of child and youth development, were distributed among schools. So far, 19,000 teachers have received training in sex education and prevention of sexual violence. In April 2001, the Ministry advised junior colleges and universities to introduce school regulations concerning sexual harassment and sexual violence.

Since 1993, gender equality awareness education has been included in the general education curriculum in various training programs for teachers. (Paragraph 143 of the Fourth Periodic Report) In December 1999, the 8th Session of the Review Committee on Woman’s Policies decided on the inclusion of courses on women’s issues in the curriculum of public training institutes. In 2000, MEHRD distributed a booklet on gender equality education to all kindergartens for use in parents’ education.

Diversification of Career Paths and Development of Women’s Human Resources

In order to diversify the career paths of women, and to promote women’s advancement into the knowledge-based industry, MEHRD has beefed up career guidance for female students and assistance in their vocational capacity development. The ministry has developed career guidance CD-ROMs for female studentsin middle and high schools. In the 7th Educational Curricula, “Career and Occupation” is offered as an elective course in high schools. A career information center has been established in every educational district office. The Education Broadcasting System (EBS) and Edunet, an on-line educational information provider, have also strengthened their contents in career education.

In terms of high school enrollment of girls, as of 2001, girls account for 47.4% in general schools, 2/3 in commercial and all-round vocational schools, but only 10% in industry, fishery and marine vocational schools. In order to address the problem of over-representation of girls in commercial vocational high schools and under-representation in industrial vocational high schools, the government abolished the sex-segregated selection of new students to industrial vocational high schools. As of 2001, there are eight girls’ industrial high schools. Conversion of existing boys’ industrial high schools to co-ed schools was also actively promoted. As a result, the number of co-ed industrial high schools increased from 113 in 1998 to 149 schools in 2001, with boys-only schools dropping from 178 to 52 during the same period.

Distribution of High School Population by Gender and Categories of Schools

Year	Total	General School	Vocational School
Agri- culture	Indust- rial	Commer-cial	Fishery & Marine	All- round	Voca- tional
1995	% of girls in total	48.1	44.8	33.6	9.1	80.9	9.6	67.4	51.0
% distribution of girls in category (total number)	100.0 (1,038,596)	53.7	0.7	2.4	27.7	0.1	12.2	3.2
% distribution of boys in category (total number)	100.0 (1,119,284)	61.5	1.3	22.2	6.1	0.5	5.5	2.9
1998	% of girls in total	48.3	46.7	35.6	10.9	80.6	11.5	66.5	53.3
% distribution of girls in category (total number)	100.0 (1,123,119)	58.2	0.7	3.1	24.6	0.1	1.2	3.3
% distribution of boys in category (total number)	100.0 (1,203,761)	62.0	1.1	23.4	5.5	0.5	4.8	2.7
2001	% of girls in total	47.9	47.4	36.0	12.8	78.4	12.1	62.5	56.2
% distribution of girls in category (total number)	100.0 (914,906)	65.3	0.7	3.2	19.5	0.1	8.2	3.0
% distribution of boys in category (total number)	100.0 (996,267)	66.5	1.1	20.3	4.9	0.4	4.5	2.2

Note: Arts, Physical Education, Foreign Language, and Science High Schools are included in the “General” category.

Source: MEHRD, Yearbook on Education al Statistics, 1995, 1998, 2001.

In college, female students tend to be concentrated in certain departments. As of 2001, women accounted for 35.4% of the undergraduate population in four-year universities nationwide. The female ratio has decreased in the traditionally “female” fields of humanities and education, and increased in the social sciences and other fields previously dominated by men. Women are gradually moving away from gender stereotypes in the choice of majors in higher education.

In graduate school, the female ratio has rapidly increased to 37.7% in 2001. However, although more women are shown to be majoring in social sciences, women continue to overwhelmingly dominate the education field. On the contrary, the number of women majoring in natural science, medicine and pharmacy has decreased.

Distribution of Women by Majors in Colleges and Universities

	Year	Overall % of women in total	% distribution of women by major
Hu m anities	Social Science	Natural Science	Medicine and Pharmacy	Arts and P.E.	Education
Medicine	Pharmacy
Junior college (2 yrs)	1995	37.6	6.4	26.4	27.0	16.7	-	15.6	7.8
1998	37.6	6.5	27.3	27.2	16.7	-	15.2	7.1
2001	36.9	6.1	24.7	31.8	14.7	-	16.0	6.7
4-year University	1995	31.9	22.9	20.7	28.6	3.6	0.1	12.5	10.8
1998	34.3	22.1	24.6	28.1	3.8	0.9	12.5	8.0
2001	35.4	21.0	27.2	27.0	4.0	0.8	13.2	6.8
Graduate School (2 yrs)	1995	28.1	14.1	15.0	19.3	7.5	1.4	12.1	30.6
1998	30.3	12.2	19.0	17.7	7.0	1.6	11.0	31.5
2001	37.7	10.0	21.3	15.5	6.9	1.0	10.7	34.5

Source: MEHRD, Yearbook on Education al Statistics, 1995, 1998, 2001.

To encourage young girls into science and technology fields, which have traditionally been less accessible to women, the government developed a scienceprogram for high school girls in 1999 and 2000 for distribution among the educational district offices as well as girls’ high schools. In March 2000, MEHRD designated 14 model high schools in using the science program for girls, and 5.4% of the 2001 budget of the Women Development Fund was earmarked to support the program. The Fund has also provided scholarships to high school girls aspiring to become science and technology majors.

In order to support research in natural science and engineering in women’s universities, a project to strengthen the infrastructure of research at women’s universities was carried out from 1997 to 2001, during which financial assistance was provided to five universities.

There are no sex-disaggregated statistics on scholarship grants to middle and high school students. In universities and graduate schools, women’s share of scholarships has increased somewhat, while the proportion of women students receiving tuition exemption has gone up significantly. The percentage of scholarship and tuition exemption recipient among women students is higher than among men. In graduate schools, men have a higher percentage of scholarship recipients, but women have the higher rate in tuition exemption benefits.

Gender Comparison of Scholarship and Tuition Exemption Recipients in Universities and Graduate Schools

Year	Type of Benefit	University	Graduate School
% of Women recipients in total	Recipients by gender (%)	% of Women recipients in total	Recipients by gender (%)
women	men	women	men
1995	Scholarship	44.6	6.2	4.3	23.7	3.6	4.5
Tuition Exemption	39.0	3.5	3.3	34.9	5.8	4.2
1998	Scholarship	49.7	5.2	3.2	46.5	8.6	4.3
Tuition Exemption	42.4	3.1	2.6	11.5	18.5	61.6
2001	Scholarship	45.9	4.8	3.5	26.7	4.8	7.9
Tuition Exemption	56.4	4.5	2.2	51.5	23.6	13.5

Source: MEHRD, Yearbook of Education al Statistics, 1995, 1998, 2001

Lifelong Education

Under the Lifelong Education Act (revised in 1999), the government consolidated a new lifelong learning system and the institutional basis for the promotion of lifelong learning, thus reducing the education gap between adult men and women.

For young people who are not on the regular school track and for adults who did not receive formal education, there are lifelong education facilities that offer education that is equivalent to schools and grant commensuratediplomas. As of 2001, the female enrollment in diploma-granting lifelong education facilities is 74.6% of the total for middle school-level education and 64.7% for high school-level education. In the past, civil education schools were established at the elementary level to increase the literacy rate of the people. Now, only one such school remains, at the elementary level with 100% female enrollment, due to the completely free and compulsory elementary education. At the higher-level civil education schools, 79.5% of the students are women. In the high schools established by business companies for their workers, 81.8% are women.

Proportion of Women (% of total enrollment) in Non-Regular Schools

year Type of school	1995	1998	2001
Elementary Level Civil Education School	100.0	100.0	100.0
Higher-level Civil Education School	76.7	85.1	79.5
Technical School	37.0	45.6	57.6
Diploma- granting School	Middle School Courses	67.9	72.1	73.6
High School Courses	52.1	59.9	35.3
High School Attached to Business Company	99.2	94.6	81.8
Korean National Open High School	-	45.2	49.1

Source: MEHRD, Yearbook of Education al Statistics , 1995, 1998, 2001

In the continuing adult education programs that grant diplomas, including the Korea National Open University, industrial colleges, technical colleges, and in-company colleges, women’s proportion in enrollment has continuously increased to 60.2% in the Open University and 23.3% in industrial colleges in 2001, and 7.6% in technical colleges. There is no sex-disaggregated data for enrollment in the in-company colleges, which were accredited as higher education institutions based on the Lifelong Education Act. Individuals can obtain a bachelor’s degree without going to these schools. They can study on their own and take the government-administered qualification test for bachelor’s degrees. Women accounted for 57.7% of the applicants and 62.6% of those who passed the test in 2001. The success rates were 34.1% for female applicants and 27.7% for males.

Women in the Open University and Industrial Colleges

Year	Open University	Industrial Colleges
Total Enrollment	% of Women in Total	Total Enrollment	% of Women in Total
1995	314,977	56.5 (177,988)	120,670	20.3 (24,464)
1998	314,438	59.2 (186,027)	146,563	22.2 (32,471)
2001	370,661	60.2 (222,982)	180,068	23.3 (41,902)

Source: MEHRD, Yearbook of Education al Statistics , 1995, 1998, 2001

Women Taking Qualification Test for Bachelor’s Degrees

Year	No. of women applicants (% of total)	No. of women taking tests (% of total)	No. of Women who passed (% of total)	Passing Rate
women	men
1995	1,715(65.2)	1,429(64.4)	291(63.5)	20.4	21.2
1998	1,176(52.7)	973(52.0)	394(53.0)	40.5	38.9
2001	1,134(57.7)	932(57.6)	318(62.6)	34.1	27.7

Source:MEHRD, Yearbook of Education al Statistics , 1995, 1998, 2001

Lifelong education for women has been activated to develop the capacity and potential of women and to reduce the gender gap. There are many different types of institutions that offer lifelong education programs to women. As of 2001, there are 90 women’s centers established by local governmentswhere skills training and capacity-building programs are offered to low-income women. There also are women’s human resources development centers around the country that specialize in short-term vocational training for women. In addition, Agricultural Cooperatives run 124 “colleges for housewives”. Some 170 privately-run cultural centers provide leisure activities and cultural programs for housewives, and over 300social welfare centers around the country also provide lifelong education programs to women. Lifelong education centers are also established at 279 colleges and universities. Taken all together, there are 3,019 courses in general education, 4,550 in arts and sports, 7,717 in vocational training, 1,137 in professional education and diploma acquisition,and 321 in other comprehensive education programs. In private educational facilities, as of 2001, a total of 3,620,147 persons, among whom 50.6% are women, are registered at 58,951 institutions. In 1999, the government built an information database on women’s lifelong education. In January2001, it legislated a special act to eliminate the information gap, and embarked upon a program to educate one million housewives on Internet use so as to ensure that they are not left behind in the information age.

School Drop-outs

The middle school drop-out rate as of 2001 is 1.0% for girls and 0.9% for boys. The high school drop-out rate is 2.2% for girls and 3.0% for boys. The major reasons for dropping out are mal-adjustment to school life, study abroad, and immigration. As middle school education has become compulsory for all, the government has tried to expand the establishment of “alternative schools” for children who choose to withdraw from formal education in big cities. As of 2001, there are about 30 alternative schools at the elementary and middle school level and eleven such schools at the high school level, accommodating 1,180 students, recognized by the government pursuant to the 1998 Enforcement Decree of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. The government is formulating a plan to lower drop-out rate, by providing opportunities to return to school and expanded access to vocational training. It is also closely following the increase of home schooling.

Sports and Physical Education

The government is studying measures to further promote the active participation of girls in sports and physical activities. MEHRD has carried out a research project with a view to developing sports programs that are particularly suitable to girls and to projecting the needed space, facilities, equipments and budget for schools to adopt such programs. In schools that specialize in physical education and athletic activities, girls accounted for 31.4% of the enrollment in 1995 and 33.3% in 2001 in middle schools, and 26.3% in 1995 and 29.4% in 2001, in high schools. The proportion of women among physical education majors in universities decreased from 32.7% in 1995 to 27.8% in 2001.

Percentage of Girls in Enrollment at Physical Education Schools (actual number in parenthesis)

Year	Middle Schools	High Schools	Physical Education Majors in 4-year universities
1995	31.4(207)	26.3(888)	32.7 (7,249)
1998	33.2(148)	28.7(933)	32.0 (9,006)
2001	33.3(161)	29.4(921)	27.8(10,718)

Source: MEHRD, Yearbook of Education al Statistics , 1995, 1998, 2001

Article 11

The Constitution provides that every citizen has the right and duty to work and that the labor of women and youth is subject to special protection. This basic principle of the Constitution is elaborated in the Women’s Development Act and the Labor Standards Act.

The Republic of Korea ratified the ILO Convention No. 111 on the Prevention of Discrimination in Employment and Occupation in December 1998.

Economically-Active Women

Korean women’s participation in economic activities has steadily expanded. During the economic crisis in 1998, women’s participation rate in the economy went down to 47.0% and their unemployment went up to 5.6%. However, after 1999, the participation rate started to increase again to 47.4% in that year and 48.3% in 2000. In 2000, women’s unemployment recorded 3.3%.

Economically-Active Population and Participation Rate

Year	Economically Active Population (thousand persons)	Participation Rate (% of total working age population)
Men	Women	Men	Women
1990	11,030	7,509	74.0	47.0
1995	12,456	8,397	76.5	48.3
1998	12,893	8,562	75.2	47.0
1999	12,889	8,745	74.4	47.4
2000	12,950	9,000	74.0	48.3

Source:National Statistical Office, Annual Report on Economically Active Population , 2000

One of the major characteristics of Korean women’s economic activities is that the curve for the economic participation rate by age has two peaks, the first at the early 20s and the second at the 40s. As the number of women exiting from the labor market due to marriage and childbirth has continued to decrease, the low point between the two peaks has continued to rise. Still the discontinuity in employment due to marriage and childbirth remains the prevailing pattern in women’s economic activities in the Republic of Korea. The discontinuity works against women’s career development and accumulation of expertise, and contributes to the lower wages of women as compared to men. Accordingly, in 2001, the government revised the laws related to maternity protection, and is continuously implementing policies to assist working women in child rearing and household work.

Economically Active Women and Participation Rate by Age

* Participation rate: % of total working age women population

Age	1995	1998	2000
Economically Active Women (1,000 persons)	Participation Rate	Economically Active Women (1,000 persons)	Participation rate	Economically Active Women (1,000 persons)	Participation rate
15-19	282	14.6	229	12.0	229	12.5
20-24	1,399	66.1	1,086	61.0	1,065	60.8
25-29	902	47.8	1,078	51.8	1,077	55.9
30-34	1,001	47.5	926	47.3	911	48.5
35-39	1,123	59.2	1,243	58.5	1,213	59.1
40-44	852	66.0	1,160	63.5	1,296	63.4
45-49	727	61.1	816	61.5	1,007	64.6
50-54	642	58.3	627	55.2	668	55.2
55-59	546	54.3	560	50.8	557	50.8
Over 60	722	28.9	838	28.1	978	29.8
Total	8,397	48.3	8,562	47.0	9,000	48.3

Source: National Statistical Office, Annual Report on Economically Active Population , 1995, 1998, 2000 .

Number of Women Workers

Up to 1997, the number of employed women continuously increased. In 1998, the figure dropped due to the economic crisis. But it has started to pick up again. In 2000, employed men and women were 12,353,000 persons and 8,707,000 persons respectively.

Women’s Employment by Industry

The concentration of women’s employment in the manufacturing sector has continued to decrease from its peak in 1990. In 2000, about 70% of employed women were in the tertiary sector, where the proportion of women in the total workforce continues to increase. More specially, looking at the trends in the different areas of the sector, women’s advances into public and social service industries is likely to continue to expand both in terms of their number and proportion in the overall workforce, where as in the case of hotels and restaurant businesses, the number is likely to increase and the proportion to decrease. In the financial industry, the proportion of women is likely to decrease as well, though a drastic decrease in the number is not expected.

Employment by Industry

Unit: thousand persons, (% of all employed in parenthesis)

Industry	1995	1998	2000
Primary (Agriculture & Fishery)	Sub-total	2,534(12.4)	2,480(12.4)	2,288(10.9)
Men	1,328(10.9)	1,299(10.9)	1,198(9.7)
Women	1,206(14.6)	1,181(14.6)	1,090(12.5)
Secondary (Mining & Manufacturing)	Sub-total	4,824(23.6)	3,919(19.6)	4,262(20.2)
Men	3,060(25.1)	2,574(21.6)	2,736(22.1)
Women	1,764(21.4)	1,346(16.7)	1,526(17.5)
Tertiary (Service & Office Work)	Sub-total	13,074(64.0)	13,595(68.0)	14,511(68.9)
Men	7,788(64.0)	8,037(67.5)	8,419(68.2)
Women	5,287(64.0)	5,557(68.7)	6,091(70.0)
Total	Sub-total	20,432(100.0)	21,061(100.0)	21,061(100.0)
Men	12,176(100.0)	12,353(100.0)	12,353(100.0)
Women	8,256(100.0)	8,084(100.0)	8,707(100.0)

Source: National Statistical Office , Annual Report on Economically Active Population , 1995, 1998, 2000

Women’s Employment by Occupation

Among employed women, the proportion of those working in care-giving occupations, administrative work, educational services, simple service work, non-skilled labor and other female-concentrated fields has continuously increased since 1995. In comparison, the number of women employed in the male-concentrated occupations such as skilled work in agriculture and fishery, machine operation and machine assembly has continuously decreased. In sum, although the number of employed women has increased continuously, there has been little change in gender segregation in occupations. In 2000, there were 3.07 million women workers in the service industries (35.3% of all women workers), 1.36 million (15.7%) in unskilled labor, 1.21 million in clerical work (13.9%), 1.11 million (12.7%) in professional and technical areas, 1 million (11.5%) in agriculture and fisheries, 0.93 million (10.7%) in factory and assembly-line work, and only 24,000 (0.3%) in government and management posts.

Women’s Employment by Occupation

Unit: thousand persons , ( % of all employed in parenthesis)

Occupation	1995	1998	2000
Government &Management	23(0.3)	27(0.3)	24(0.3)
Professional & Technical	896(10.9)	1,026(12.7)	1,107(12.7)
Clerical	1,277(15.5)	1,140(14.1)	1,208(13.9)
Service	2,631(32.0)	2,818(34.9)	3,074(35.3)
Agriculture & Fishery	1,110(13.5)	1,107(13.7)	999(11.5)
Skilled Labor & Assembly-line Work	1,096(13.3)	879(10.9)	932(10.7)
Non-skilled Labor	1,191(14.5)	1,087(13.4)	1,364(15.7)
Total	8,224(100.0)	8,084(100.0)	8,707(100.0)
Source: National Statistical Office, Annual Report on Economically Active Population , 1995, 1998, 2000

Women in Non-regular Employment

The proportion of regular employment with job security among women workers has continuously decreased from its peak of 42.0% in 1995. Since then, the proportion of temporary and daily workers among employed women has drastically increased. In 2000, there were 5.2 million women waged workers, of whom 3.81 million (73.3%) were on non-regular employment. For men, the proportion was 48.5%. The largest group among the non-regular jobholders was temporary workers with fixed-term employment contracts (3.73 million persons).

Assistance for Women’s Employment

The government is implementing the 2nd Basic Plan for Working Women’s Welfare (1998-2002) in order to continue and expand the assistance for women’s employment and stability in work. The goal of 2nd Plan is to broaden the basis for promoting women’s employment, forge the conditions in the labor market for women to sufficiently utilize their abilities, and expand maternity protection for working women.

In 1999, employment guidance was provided to 1,376,000 women seeking employment through the Employment Stabilization Centers and Human Resource Data Banks, establishedunder the 46 Local Labor Offices.

The government is expanding opportunities for women to receive vocational training. The number of women who have benefited from the various training institutes has jumped from 1995 to 1998 as indicated in < Table 40 >.

Number of Women who Received Vocational Training in Training Institutes*

Types of Institutes	1995	1998
Public	2,555	31,409
In-Company	29,291	29,955
Accredited	5,798	12,713
Total	37,644	74,077

Source: Ministry of Labor, Women and Employment, 1995, 1998

*With the legislation of the Vocational Training Promotion Act in 1998, vocational training institutes are classified as (1) public vocational capacity development training facilities established and operated by the national or local governments or public agencies (including the Technical College under the Technical College Act), (2) vocational capacity development training facilities established by companies, and (3) other facilities accredited by the Ministry of Labor. Data on these new categories of vocational training institutes have not yet been compiled.

The government provides opportunities to develop vocational skills for married women who cannot attend regular vocational training courses because of housework or child-care. By January 2001, the Ministry of Labor had established 46 Women Workers’ Centers around the country. The centers were transferred to MOGE, and the name was changed to Women’s Human Resource Development Centers. The 53 centers nationwideprovide short-term vocational training programs lasting less than six months in such occupational fields as computer operation, electronic publishing and cooking. They also assist trained women in gaining employment.

Enrollment at Women Workers’ Center (No. of Persons)

Program Year	Vocational Skill Development Projects	Employment	Social Education	Day Care Provided
Education	Employment	Guidance
1993∼99	74,215	29,603	318,556	162,860	308,465
1995	4,543	2,269	38,698	8,178	17,482
1998	18,006	6,406	54,822	45,091	172,445
1999	31,607	11,494	80,822	62,386	61,495

Source: Ministry of Labor, Women and Employment, 2001.

To promote parental leave and women’s employment, the government has expanded the incentive for parental leave. In 2000, it introduced a subsidy of 120,000 won a month to big enterprises and 150,000 won to small and medium enterprises per each employee on parental leave.

In order to promote the reemployment of married women, since 1997 incentives have been offered to employers who reemploy a woman worker within 5 years after she had left employment for reasons of pregnancy, childbirth and childrearing.The amount of the subsidy, a one time payment, is decided each year by the Minister of Labor. For unemployed woman household headswho hope to start a business, but find difficulty in getting loans from banks due to lack of collateral, the Korea Labor Welfare Corporation helps out by renting store space for them to use within the limit of 50 million won for the lease.

Gender Equality in Employment

Gender equality in employment is guaranteed under the Labor Standards Act, the Equal Employment Act, and the Gender Discrimination Prevention and Relief Act.

The government has carried outeducation and publicity campaigns targeting labor unions and employers so that the gender equality provisions in the laws may be fully implemented at the workplaces. It has also tried to encourage management-labor consultation and initiatives in weeding out discriminatory clauses in employment regulations. The government’s guidance in this regard began with largecampaigns with more than 200 employees and has gradually expanded to small workplaces of 30 or less workers by 1999. The government is also strengthening measures to eliminate discriminatory elements in recruitment announcements and is making efforts to increase women’s presence in labor unions.

Assistance to Women Entrepreneurs

In 1999, the Act on Assistance for Women Enterprises was legislated and, in accordance with the Act, a basic plan to promote women’s business activities wasdrawnup. In 2000, pursuant to the basic plan, incubation centers to assist women’s up-start businesses were established in seven regions. Five more were added in 2001. In 2000, the government provided training to 1,498 women entrepreneurs in technology development and managerial capacity enhancement. In 2001, over 100 lectures were provided to women starting their own businesses. It also staged exhibitions of quality products made by women entrepreneurs to help in their marketing. As a result, 79 public agencies, including the Government Procurement Office and the Korea Electric Power Corporation, purchased products from women’s enterprises in the amount of 957 billion won. Other measures to assist businesses owned by women include additional points when screening applications for financial assistance, personnel and marketing assistance, etc.

Equal Pay for Equal Value Work

The Republic of Korea ratified the ILO Convention No. 100 concerning Equal Remuneration for Men and Women Workers for Work of Equal Value in 1997.

The wage gap between men and women in Korea has continuously narrowed during the past 10 years. Still, in 2000, the average monthly income of women workers was 64.7% of men. This represented an increase of 6.7% points from 1995 (58.0%), but the gap remains huge. Women workers are still at a lower level than men in education level, age, work experience and years of continuous employment, which are the determining factors of wage. Women are still concentrated around low income, low-level posts. The government is taking measures to assist in the continuous employment of women workers. In order to eliminate wage discrimination between men and women, the government carries out periodic checks on employment rules of companies. It has also increased the number of equal employment counseling centers operated by civic organizations to 15 locations.

Average Monthly Wage and Wage Gap between Men and Women Workers

	1990	1995	2000
Men (thousand won)	727	1,361	1,474
Women (thousand won)	388	790	954
Wage Gap (percentage)	53.4	58.0	64.7

Source: Ministry of Labor, Survey on Wage Structure.

Right to Social Security

The basic pillars of social security in the Republic of Korea consist of four insurance systems – national pension plan, health insurance, employment insurance, and industrial accident compensation insurance. The government is continuously taking steps to strengthen the four systems. However, non-regular workers, a high proportion of whom are women, have limited access to employment insurance or national pension. Measures to expand non-regular workers’ access to the systems are under discussion. Also under review are the discriminatory aspects of the pension plan, under which a woman who remarries can no longer receive her share of her former husband’s pension.

Economic Evaluation of Women’s Unpaid Work

The Republic of Korea was the first in Asia to carry out a systematic assessment of the productivity and social contribution of unpaid domestic labor. In 2001, based on a survey conducted by the National Statistical Office in 1999 on people’s time allocation, KWDI carried out a research to evaluate the economic value of unpaid labor. According to the research, the estimated value of unpaid work in Korea was about 140-180 trillion won. Women’s unpaid work accounted for about 83-86% of the total. The estimated value of the domestic work of housewives was about 60-70 trillion won, accounting for 13-15% of the GDP. In another study commissioned by MOGE to Ewha Woman’s University in 2001, the value of unpaid domestic labor produced in Korean families was assessed to be 14.3 - 16.9 trillion won. The findings have added a new level to policy thinking on such matters as social security, divorce settlement, taxation of inheritance/donation between spouses, etc. Meanwhile, there has been an accumulation of court rulings in divorce cases that reflect the economic value of women’s unpaid domestic labor.

Assistance to Women with Disabilities

The government continuously updates its registry of persons with disabilities with a view to making its assistance more effective. As of 2001, there are a total of 1,114 thousand persons on the registry, among whom 344 thousand (30.9%) are women. The registry is likely to expand in the future as social prejudice against disabled persons continues to diminish. While physical disabilities are more common among men, women tend to suffer more from ailments due to old age and chronic diseases, especially hearing and vision impairment.

In 2000, the government enacted the Act on Promotion of Employment and Vocational Rehabilitation of Disabled Persons, replacing the 1990 Act on Disabled Person Employment Promotion (paragraph 177 of the Fourth Periodic Report). The new Act strengthensgovernment assistance in the employment of disabled persons, including measures favoring disabled women. The Act provides that 5% of the newly employed public officials each year should be persons with disabilities. At the same time, assistance to employers employing disabled persons was expanded. The incentive offered to employers who hire disabled persons in excess of the legally required number was increased from 60% of the minimum monthly wage to 100% of the minimum wage (361,000 won in 2000) per person. For some disabled persons, minimum wage requirements are exempt. To companies employing these persons, the government gives 60% of the monthly wage per person in subsidy. The new Act increases the amount to 75% of the wage for disabled women workers and persons with severe disabilities.

In 1999, there were 25,831 disabled persons seeking employment. 9,894 of them found employment, of which 28% (2,752 persons) were women. The mismatch between menial labor positions available to the disabled and the educational level and aspirations of disabled women resulted in the low employment rate.

Assistance to Elderly Women

In 2000, there were 5.16 million persons over 60 years of age, among whom women accounted for 3.03 million (58.8%). The proportion of the elderly population over 60 years of age out of the total population is 10.1% for males, and 14.4% for females. Government welfare programs for the elderly are carried out without distinction as to gender. MOHW and MOGE are studying ways to make policies for the elderly more gender-sensitive.As the Welfare of the Aged Act was revised in 1997, elderly pension has been paid to the low-income elderly persons over 65 years of age since July 1998. (Paragraph 179 of the Fourth Periodic Report) As of year 2000, a monthly subsidy of 30,000 to 50,000 won is given to around 715,000 persons, in order to provide cash assistance to the elderly who suffer from financial difficulties.

In 2000, women over 55 years of age with employment numbered 2.49 million (28.6% of all employed women), and women of the same age seeking employment 15,000. The government prepared an incentive system for companies that employ elderly people. In 1999, the government provided 13,497 million won to 30,417 companies where more than 6% of the workforce are elderly persons. Furthermore, companies that newly recruit more than one elderly workers per month, are given 1/3 of the wage of the new workers (1/4 in the case of big corporations) for six months.

Protection of Working Women

Strengthened provisions for maternity protection in the revised Labor Standards Act and the Equal Employment Act are discussed in paragraphs 22 and 26.

Child-Care Facilities

Although the government has continuously increased the number of child-care facilities, the supply is still short of the demand. As of 2000, 1.49 million out of 4.27 million children under fiver-years of age need careoutside the home. Among them, 686,000 (46.1%) are beneficiaries of child-care facilities. The percentage is lower the younger the children: 10.7% for children under 2 years of age, and 36.9% for children over 2 years of age. The phenomenon is closely related to the fact that there are still a considerable number of women workers who quit jobs due to childbirth and child-rearing.

Children in Child-Care Facilities (2000)

Age	Number of children	Children in need of child-care (A)	Children in child-care facilities (B)	Percentage of (B) to (A)
Total	4,274,378	1,487,642	686,000	46.1
Infants	Sub-total	1,414,506	432,336	46,169	10.7
0 year	704,523	188,812
1 year	709,983	243,524
2 years	713,822	281,246	103,807	36.9
3∼5 years	2,146,050	774,060	536,024	69.2
Source: MOHW, internal documents, 2000

As of 2000, there are a total of 19,276 child-care facilities in the Republic of Korea, of which 58.6% are private, 33.6% home, 6.7% public, and 1.1% workplace facilities. The cost is generally high as most of them are privately run. The high cost is a major factor behind the high rate of women workers quitting jobs at the time of childbirth and child-rearing, especially for those with low level of education or rank, and hence with low wages. According to the Equal Employment Act and the Child Care Act, enterprises with more than 300 regular female employees are required to establish a child-care facility at work and bear more than 50% of the operational cost. However, child-care centers at work are not yet widely established as required, because the legal provisions are not binding.

Number of Child-Care Facilities

Year Facilities	1995	1998	2000
National/Public	1,029	1,258	1,295
Private	4,125	9,622	11,304
Work place	87	184	204
Home	3,844	6,541	6,473
Total	9,085	17,605	19,276

Supporting Child-Care Facilities

The government provides various assistance through the employment insurance system to companies which plan to establish child-care facilities at work. In 1999, a total of 1,266 million won was provided to seven companies for this purpose. In 2000, 2 billion won was secured. Government support for child-care facilities and for children of low-income households is discussed in paragraph 184 of the Fourth Periodic Report.

In 2000, the government established an advising committee to seek new policy directions in child-care and to devise concrete measures to enhance the quality of child-care services.

After-School Child-Care Facilities

Non-profit organizations and religious facilities were the first in the country to offer after-school child-care to low-income working mothers. At present, the after-school care for school-age children are generally of the following types: after-school classes opened at elementary schools; after-school classes at social welfare centers in low-income areas; after-school care at pre-school child-care facilities; and programs run by religious and other non-profit organizations in low-income areas. But the supply of the care falls far short of the demand. Furthermore, these programs are predominantly for lower-grade elementary school children, with the primary goal being protection and guidance of children in schoolwork, and lacking activities for emotional and social development. The majority of children requiring after-school care engage in extra studies at private institutes or under tutors.

Article 12

Health Policies Related to Women

Gender equality in the field of health consists of equality in access to health care services and adequate provision of reproductive health services. Gender equality in access to health care services is secured through the health insurance system. The National Health Insurance Act aims at providing insurance benefits for prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of, and rehabilitation from disease or injury as well as for childbirth and health promotion. Under the Act, every citizen is covered by the national health insurance plan. Reproductive health services, including health management of pregnant women and infants and family planning, are provided through the Maternal and Child Health Act.

Gender Equality in Access to Health Care

Since all citizens have health insurance, there is no institutionalized gender discrimination in health care. However, the majority of women benefit from health insurance not as the insured but as dependents to the insured. Since the benefits of health insurance are given primarily for the insured, there is a high probability of women dependents getting excluded from some benefits.

The 1999 hospital records (except childbirth cases)show that 1.7 million females and 1.9 males were hospitalized and 124.3 million females and 97.6 males were treated as out-patients. The cost per treatment was higher for males than for females for both hospitalized patients and out-patients. But it is not clear whether the difference is due to different medical needs or different attitudes and means.

The biennial medical check-up rate for the period of 1996-1998 was 42.1% for females, which was much lower than the 56.2% for males. In particular, the 20-44 age group showed a significant gender gap; 55% for males and 39% for females. The check-up rate is closely related to whether the individual is employed or not.

Biennial Medical Check-up Rate for 1996-1998

Age Group	Male	Female
All Ages 20-44 years 45-64 years 65 and above	56.1 % 55.5 % 61.1 % 43.7 %	42.1 % 39.3 % 51.6 % 34.1 %

Source: MOHW, Policies for W omen’s Health Problems by Life Cycle (2000).

Medical Assistance and Women

For recipients of basic livelihood assistance and other low-income people who are unable to pay for the medical care they need, the government provides subsidies. As of 2000, the beneficiaries of the medical assistance program number 1.57 million persons, among whom 56.9% (0.89 million) are women.

Number of Beneficiaries of Medical Assistance

Year	Gender	Total	0-14 years of age	15-59 years of age	60-64 years of age	65 and older
1998	Female	750,899	121,282	356,019	55,414	209,184
Male	517,797	126,275	345,042	25,707	74,773
1999	Female	924,677	179,296	444,686	71,459	229,236
Male	711,952	186,859	408,696	33,013	83,384
2000	Female	892,847	129,872	430,302	62,709	269,964
Male	677,162	137,798	406,058	32,408	100,898

Source: National Health Insurance Corporation

Reproductive Health and Women’s Health

The maternal mortality rate and infant mortality rate continue to decrease.

Infant Mortality Rate and Maternal Mortality Rate

Year	Infant Mortality Rate	Maternal Mortality Rate
1990	12.8	14.0
1995	8.6	2.0
1996	7.7	2.0

Note: 1) Infant mortality rate = Number of infant deaths (under 1 year) per 1,000 new births

2) Maternal mortality rate= Number of women who died during pregnancy, delivery or post-parturition per 10,000 new births

Source: MOHW, Yearbook of Health and Welfare (2000).Women’s Health and Welfare: Current Situation and Statistics (2001)

The birth control practice rate has increased from 54.5% in 1979 to 79.3% in 2000. The responsibility continues to fall more on women than men: in 34.1% of cases women, and in 29.5% cases men used birth control methods. In 2001, After a debate on the use of post-intercourse birth control pills, the government decided to allow its marketing.

The induced abortion rate remains high although decreasing. In 1999, the percentage of married women between 15-44 years of age who have undergone at least one induced abortion was 39%. The rate was the highest among women in their 20s: 53 persons per 1,000 in the 20-24 years age group, and 33 per 1,000 for those 25-29 years of age. In spite of the criminalization of induced abortion (paragraph 193 of the Fourth Periodic Report), the practice is wide-spread. In 2001, the Medical Doctors Association made an open call for the decriminalization of induced abortion.

The rate of breast-feeding has decreased by 3.9% points from 14.1% in 1997 to 10.2% in 2000. The most common form is mixed feeding of breast milk and powdered milk. The percentage of powdered milk-only feeding has decreased slightly.

The caesarean section rate at childbirth is 37.7% in 2000. The rate is higher with older mother. But the rate for women aged 25-29 is also 36.7%.

Childbirth allowance is paid in the case of childbirth at home.

Promotion of Women’s Health

A key task of MOHW is to expand health care service for women according to their life cycle. In 1998, the government provided pre- and post-natal care to 76,000 persons registered at public health care centers. It also provided immunization and health care services to 373,000 registered infants and children. In 1999, it designated 23 public health care centers nationwide as ‘maternal and child health care centers’, and allocated 1.6 billion won for their facilities investment and operation. Local governments also carry out various projects to promote women’s health. The Seoul Metropolitan City provides professional health care services to pregnant women, infants and children through its district public health centers. It provides pregnant and nursing mothers handbooks on mother and child health care, as well as periodic check-ups.

Women’s organizations are actively involved in women’s health issues. In 2001, the Korean National Council of Women held a seminar on “Women’s Health; Policies and Tasks”. The Korea Women’s Associations United also held a seminar entitled “For Women to be Healthy”, which analyzed women’s health issues at different stages of their lives.

Level of Women’s Health

Women’s health standards continue to improve in terms of life expectancy, maternal mortality rate, infant mortality rate, and abortion rate. However, the increase in caesarean section and the decrease in breast-feeding are negative developments. In addition, although the population of elderly women has rapidly increased with increased life expectancy, policies to help them maintain their health have been lacking.

In 1999, the disease occurrencerate (percentage of people surveyed reporting the experience of illness during the past two weeks), which is the main indicator of health, was 19.1% for males and 25.6% for females. Both showed increases from the 16.6% and 21.4% of 1995 respectively, partly due to the increase in the elderly population. Women tend to suffer more than men from ailments of the muscles and bones, blood circulation, the nervous system and sensory organs, as well as mental disability and endocrine disorders.

In 1998, the rates of uterine cancer and breast cancer were 0.97 and 0.87 per one thousand women respectively. By age, the uterine cancer rate is highest at 3.05 for women over 65 years of age, and the breast cancer rate is highest at 2.52 for those between 45-64 years of age. Breast cancer check-up rate for women over 20 years of age was 14% as of 1998 and uterine cancer check-up rate was 34%. The government plans to bring the rates up to 60% for breast cancer and 70% for uterine cancer by 2005.

HIV/AIDS

According to the government statistics, as of 2001, there are 183 women infected with the AIDS virus, which is nearly twice the 108 of 1995. It is presumed that the actual number of infected cases is larger. By gender, there are seven times more infected men (1,256) than women. By age, women in their 20’s account for 34.4%, and men in their 30’s for 36.5%.

Quality of Life Related to Women’s Health

The number of days of restricted activity than normal due to disease or injury was 6.0 days in 1999 for both men and women.

As of 2000, the average life expectancy of women is 79.5 years and men 72.1 years, representing significant increases for both from 77.4 years for women and 69.5 years for men in 1995.

Life Expectancy by Gender

1995	2000
Women	Men	Women	Men
77.4 yrs	69.5 yrs	79.5yrs	72.1yrs

Source: National Statistical Office, 1995 Life Table (1997), 1999 Life Table (2001).

Article 13

National Pension System and Women

The National Pension Plan provides income stability to families with various benefits. For households lacking minimum earning power, public assistance is extended through the National Basic Livelihood Security System. For low-income single mother families, the Mother and Child Welfare Act serves as the basis for various assistance scheme. (Paragraph 210 of the Fourth Periodic Report)

The National Pension Plan has been continuously expanded. As of 2000, there are 3.2 million women enrolled in the plan, accounting for 27.5% of the total 12 million enrolled. 17.5% of the female population over 15 years of age, 36.3% of economically active female population, and 37.4% of employed women are covered by the plan.

Number of Persons on the National Pension Plan

(% of total in parenthesis)

Year	Total	Men	Women
1995	7,257,394 (100.0)	5,365,706 (73.9)	1,891,688 (26.1)
1998	6,580,625 (100.0)	4,984,181 (75.7)	1,596,084 (24.3)
2000	11,763,116(100.0)	8,499,161(72.3)	3,263,955(27.7)

Source: National Pension Corporation, Statistical Yearbook of National Pension , 1995, 1998, 2000.

By income distribution, women are concentrated in the low-income strata. In 2000, the average monthly income of women enrolled in the Plan is 730,000-990,000 won for 36.3% of the women, 520,000-670,000 won for 21.4%, 1,060,000-1,970,000 won for 26.7%. The figures for men are 18.7% for the 730,000-990,000 won bracket, 43.3% for the 1,060,000-1,970,000 won bracket, and 28.8% for the highest 2,080,000 + won bracket. Only 3.7% of women are in the highest bracket.

Efforts have been made to reflect the changing needs and roles of women in the National Pension Plan. The Plan was expanded to encompass workplaces with less than 5 employees, self-employed workers in urban areas, temporary workers and daily laborers. Voluntary enrollment has been activated, and the reduction in the minimum number of enrollment years required, installment payments, and the widened extent of family members to receive payment from the pension of a deceased have resulted in greater benefits to women. Those without income such as housewives and students, as well as employees of small companies with less than five persons and daily laborers, are excluded from mandatory enrollment in the Plan. However, the division of the pension between spouses after divorce protects the livelihood of housewives who divorce their husbands.

National Basic Livelihood Security and Women

In 1999, the Act on National Basic Livelihood Security was legislated based on the idea of “productive welfare” for the purpose of revamping the welfare system that had been in place since 1961. Accordingly, a new system to guarantee the basic livelihood of all went into operation in October 2000, whereby the state guarantees the basic livelihood in terms of food, education, medical treatment, and housing to extremely poor people who lack the means to survive on their own. For those beneficiaries who have the capacity to work, the system encourages self-reliance through conditional assistance and income tax exemption, and provides job placement, vocational training, and loans for community work and business projects.

The total number of welfare recipients under the previous system was 601,450 in 1990, 495,045 in 1995, and 427,978 in 1999, showing a decreasing trend. Among the 203,628 recipients of residential protection (i.e. lacking ability to work), in 1999 women accounted for 64.3%. Women also accounted for 51.0% among the 224,350 persons receiving self-reliance protection.

Looking at the age of household heads on welfare, as of 1999, those 65 years or older accounted for 42%, 60-64 years 10%, 50-59 years 16%, under 50 years 32%. Among the poorest recipients of public assistance, women who are 65 years or older accounted for 58.9% in 1990 and 64.7% in 1999 in the case of residential protection, and 18.2% in 1990 and 39.4% in 1999 in the case of self-reliance protection. The trend is one of a steady increase in the percentage of elderly women among the most needy segments of the population.

Since the 1997 economic crisis, women’s organizations have taken increasing interest in women’s poverty issues. They are actively promoting women’s awareness of basic livelihood security system and providing input into gender-sensitive self-reliance projects for women.

Assistance to Low Income SingleMother Families

Pursuant to the Mother and Child Welfare Act, as of January 2000, assistance is being provided to 21,744 households headed by single mothers, tuition assistance to 20,210 students, and child-rearing allowance to 6,099 children. (Paragraph 210 of the Fourth Periodic Report)

Women and Accident Insurance

The economic value of the domestic labor of full time housewives varies depending on the evaluation method. According to a 2001 KWDI study, commissioned by MOGE and the UNDP, it is assessed at 60-70 billion won, equivalent to 13-15% of the total GDP and 30-35% of total wages in the Republic of Korea. The average monthly value of a housewife’s domestic labor is assessed at 856,000 won to 1,026,000. At present, when a full time housewife loses the ability to work or dies in a traffic accident, the compensation is made according to the government wage standard of an urban daily laborer, which amounts to 733,103 won a month at the time of the KWDI study, or only 71.4% - 85.6% of the average monthly value of domestic labor.

Financial Credits and Loans for Women

The government assists the unemployed female heads of household planning to open up a store with a loan of up to 50 million won (towards the lease of store space renewable for up to 5 years) from the 20 billion won in the Workers Welfare Promotion Fund. The Korean Women Entrepreneurs Association provides 20 million won for 2 years towards the lease of store space for female heads of households starting their own businesses.

Cultural and Leisure Activities of Women

Various social education programs for women’s cultural and leisure activities are provided by public institutions and private organizations. MOGE has compiled a database of all social education entities for the purpose of expanding women’s access to their programs and services. Local governments provide vocational training as well as cultural and hobby programs for low-income women through their Women’s Centers. The Social Welfare Centers also operate leisure programs for women. In addition,there are some 160 women’s volunteer activities centers around the country. Many media companies and department stores also operate cultural centers.

According to a sample survey by the National Statistical Office in 2000, women usually spend weekends and holidays at home, watching TV and doing housework, despite the various lifelong education programs and cultural activities on offer outside the home.

According to the same survey, the percentage of women over 15 years of age who read books was 58.6% and the average number of books read was 11.3 books, compared to 60.2% and 15.2 books for men. The percentage of women 15 years or older who regularly read newspapers was 54.8%which is lower than for men 76.0%.

Of females 6 years or older, 44.8% are computer users, compared to 58.5% for males. In terms of level of familiarity with computer use, 43.2% of women users are at the beginners level, 26.0% at the middle level, 24.6% at the level of simple games and entertainment, and only 6.2% at the highly skilled level where 14.2% of male users are found.

The primary purpose of PC communication and the Internet use was information search for both men and women, followed by chatting and electronic mails for women and games and entertainment for men. While women use computers largely for culture, education, TV related information and activities, music and movies, men do so to make reservations, carry out commercial transactions, and retrieve data.

Article 14

Rural Female Population

The rural areas in Korea have gone through drastic changes in the process of industrialization. The numbers of farming households, agricultural and fishery population and agricultural employees are all on the decrease. Agricultural population, i.e. number of persons in farming households, was 4.4 million in 1998, 4.2 million in 1999, and slightly over 4.03 million in 2000, accounting for 9.5%, 9.0%, and 8.7% respectively of the total population. The percentage of women in the agricultural population remained over 50% after 1990 - 51.6% in 1998 and 51.5% in both 1999 and 2000- and women have become the major source of labor force in the agricultural sector. The rural population is also becoming increasingly old. In 1990, the rural residents over 60 years of age were 1,187,000, which was only 17.8% of the total. It increased to 1,343,000 in 1998, and 1,356,000 in 1999, accounting for 32.2% of the total rural population.

Women’s Agricultural Production

The steady decrease in the rural population due to the continued emigration of young and middle aged men to the cities has been accompanied by the increased participation of women in agricultural production. The economic participation rate of rural women was 67.3% in 1997, 68.2% in 1998, and 66.8% in 1999, and it continues to increase to a much higher rate than the national average of 47.4% for women. The labor intensity of the work carried out by rural women is very high. In 1999, in comparison to the average 7.5 hours of daily work-time for women in general, rural women worked for 13.4 hours during the busy farming season and 9.7 hours during the slack season.

Policies for Women Farmers

Various measures to train women farmers have been developed, taking into consideration the increasing share of women in the agricultural labor force. The Basic Act on Agriculture and Agricultural Communities (1999) lists the responsibilities of national and local governments in developing rural women’s human resources, and provides for the formulation and implementation of a “Five-Year Plan for the Training of Women Farmers (2001-2005)”. Accordingly, policies are being formulated for the education, training and welfare of women farmers with a view to enhancing their agricultural expertise and strengthening their settlement in rural areas.

The Office for Women’s Policies in the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry was established in 1998 to promote measures to enhance the expertise of women farmers and to guarantee them the social status consistent with their roles. (Paragraph 53)

To encourage young people to engage in agriculture, the government designates “Young Farmers (Agricultural Successors)” as model cases to support. From 1992 to 2000, 5,897 women have been selected as Young Farmers. The percentage of women among the young farmers is increasing, 12.9% in 1998, 20.3% in 1999, and 18.4% in 2000.

Women Selected as Young Farmers

	1992~2000	1995	1998	1999	2000
Total Number of Young Farmers	70,200	9,700	7,862	4,819	4,674
Women Young Farmers	5,897	595	101	980	859
% of women in total	8.4	6.1	12.9	20.3	18.4

Source: Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (2000)

Improving Health Care in Rural Areas

Health service in rural areas has improved significantly with financial assistance from the government. During the period of 1994-2004, the facilities and equipments of public health centers are being upgraded with revenues from the special tax for rural communities. By 2001, a total of 279.3 billion won has been provided for this purpose. In addition, between 1997 and 2000, the government invested 257 billion won to assist private hospitals in rural areas. The number of public health centers in rural communities – general health centers and treatment clinics - decreases after 1997, due to structural adjustments and integration of administrative districts during the economic crisis. But the quality of their service has been improved. As of 2000, there are 1,270 general health centers and 1,907 treatment clinics for a total of 3,177 public health centers.

Number of Public Health Centers in Rural Areas

	1997	1998	1999	2000
General Health Centers	1,315	1,266	1,271	1,270
Treatment Clinics	2,034	1,941	1,911	1,907

Source: MOHW, Statistical Yearbook of Health and Welfare , 2000 .

Childcare Facilities in Rural Areas

The number of childcare facilities in rural areas has increased from 1,648 centers in 1998, to 2,425 in 1999, and 2,703 in 2000. Still, the supply falls short of demand. In 1998, there was an average of 0.9 childcare center in every Myon, and there were 615 Eup and Myon without any childcare facilities

Work Assistance for Rural Women

Since 2000, the government has been operating a program of work assistance for women farmers. Under the program, the government pays for manpower hired to replace the women farmer who cannot work due to childbirth. The program began with model projects in 68 cities and counties in 2000, and was expanded to 87 cities and counties in 2001. In 2000, 731 women benefited from the program and in 2001, the beneficiaries were 1,760.

Rural Women’s Membership in the National Pension and Employment Insurance

Women who are employed in the agriculture, forestry, fishery, and mining sectors accounted for 11.4% of all women enrolled in the National Pension Plan in 1997, 12.1% in 1998, and 6.8% in 1999. The number of women employed in agriculture and forestry with employment insurance increased from 1,002 in 1996 to 2,080 in 1998 and 2,431 in 1999.

Illiteracy among Rural Women

The Illiteracy rate among rural women is almost zero, except for the very elderly over 70 years of age.

Education for Rural Women

In response to the growing demand of rural women for education in agricultural skills, agricultural management, and computer usage, the government has offered courses on specialized farming skills for each crop, new agricultural technology, regionally specialized farming, and related distribution, processing, and by-products utilization, making and selling of handicrafts, computer and Internet use, etc. In 2000, 1,847 training seminars were provided for 44,285 women farmers.

Education for Women Farmers in 2000

	Agricultural Skills Education	Agricultural Management Education	Computer Information Education
N o. of sessions	No. of trainees	N o. of sessions	No. of trainees	No. of sessions	No. of trainees
	678	25,791	182	4,633	987	13,861
Total	1,847 sessions, 44,285 trainees

Source: Agricultural Development Agency (2000), Report on Agricultural Guidance Project.

An important part of the education is programs to train women farmers in the operation and maintenance of agricultural machines and vehicles. Seven kinds of women-friendly agricultural machines, including leek harvest and seeding machine, fruits and vegetables packagers, and garlic stem cutters, were developed and put to experimental use and field tests in 2001.

The Agricultural Technology Institute’s rural leadership program benefited 3,212 rural women leaders in 1998, 3,780 in 1999, and 3,293 in 2000. In addition, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry opened two management classes for rural women leaders. In 2000, 86 women took the courses.

To enable rural women to take up income-generating side work, the Agricultural Development Agency provides courses in licensed jobs such as cooking, dress making, Korean costume making, haircutting and dressing, wall-papering, etc.

Agricultural Cooperatives and Rural Women

Women membership in agricultural cooperatives is also increasing, from 314,485 (15.6% of total membership) in 1998 to 373,124 (17.5%) in 2000. However, the lingering perception that a man should represent the household stands as an impediment to women’s membership in agricultural co-ops.

Rural Women’s Membership in Agricultural Cooperatives

	1998	2000
Total Membership	2,017,589	2,135,227
Women Membership	314,485	373,124
% of women in total	15.6	17.5

Source: National Agricultural Cooperative Federation (2001), internal data.

Rural Women’s Organizations

Women’s associations are voluntarily organized at the village level, and engage in activities to improving condition, promote cultural and welfare projects, initiate income-generating work, and strengthen cooperation in farm work. Membership in the associations increased 957,000 in 23,704 associations in 1995 to 1,239,000 in 40,855 association in 2000. (Paragraph 225 of the Fourth Periodic Report)

Rural communities also have Life Improvement Associations, which are organizations of rural women leaders who promote the enhancement of agricultural skills and participate in local development. The number of women participating in these associations has been steadily increased from 59,939 in 1997 to 81,728 in 2000.

The government gives financial support to civic organizations that work to promote the status of women farmers and protect their rights, such as National Women Farmers Association and Central Association for Life Improvement, etc. The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry dispensed 20 million won in 1998, 30 million won in 1999, and 60 million won in 2000 to assist these organizations.

Improvement of Living and Working Conditions

In 2000, to remodel and upgrade kitchen and bathroom facilities in rural houses, the government provided 4,200, 000 won loans to 2,521 households for a total of 10.6 billion won. The loans accounted for 49% of the total cost of 21.7 billion won for the project. The remainder (11.6 billion won) was met by the farming households themselves.

To improve the working conditions in agricultural communities, 77 rest areas in vinyl house complexes, 200 village halls, and 50 other facilities such as agricultural machines storages and, public saunas, were opened in 2000. In addition, agricultural work devices and agricultural work clothes were distributed to increase work efficiency. In 172 model villages in agricultural work improvement, various facilities, devices and education were provided.

Article 15

The principle of gender equality before the law in all areas of life, stipulated in the Constitution, is applied to the right to property and the freedom of residence and movement.

There is no gender discrimination in the laws concerning the exercise of property rights. However, the tradition has been for property acquired during marriage to be registered under the husband’s name, thereby restricting the wife’s property ownership and rights. Recently, especially among young couples, there is a growing tendency to register property in the name of both spouses, sponsored by women’s organizations’ campaigns for co-ownership of the property. (Paragraph 267)

Men and women have equal rights in access to the legal system. The Korea Legal Aid Center for Family Relations, the Korea Sexual Violence Relief Center, and many other NGOs provide free legal counseling and victim protection. The Korea Legal Aid Center for Family Relations and the Korean Legal Aid Corporation also provide assistance in lawsuits.

Article 16

Article 36(1) of the Constitution of the Republic of Korea guarantees democratic institutions for marriage and family life. It declares the respect for human dignity and democracy as their ruling principles, and provides for the institutional guarantee of monogamy as the unity of two people in marriage based on individual dignity and gender equality.

Marriage

Marriage is to be based on the consensus of both parties. A marriage is void when found not to be based on consensus of both parties, and any person who married due to fraud or threat may annul the marriage, as it was not based on free will.

Under the current law, a woman can remarry no sooner than six months after the date on which the previous marriage ended. The purpose of the provision is to avoid possible conflict in paternity claims. However, with advanced technology now available for DNA identification of the biological father, the provision is no longer necessary. A proposal to eliminate the provision from the Civil Code is pending at the National Assembly.

Rights and Responsibilities of Spouses

The husband and the wife have equal rights and responsibilities as spouses, including the responsibility to cohabit and to support each other and the right to represent each other.

Family Head System

The Republic of Korea has maintained the family head succession system, whereby the family head is succeeded based on the paternal lineage (Civil Code, Articles 980-995). The family head system has far-reaching implications on marriage and family relations, and has stood in the way of realizing gender equality in many aspects of society.

The status of the family head is succeeded in the following order: son of the family head (grandson)→unmarried daughter→spouse→mother→daughter-in-law. When there is no son and only daughter(s), the family cannot be succeeded for generations unless a man is taken into marriage and his son is made to succeed the family.

A divorced woman can either return to the family registry of her parents or establish a new family registry under her name. But she cannot register her child on her registry. The child has to remain on the husband’s family registry, even when the mother is designated as legal custodian and guardian of the child and lives with the child. Even when the divorce was brought about because the husband abused the childand/or did not carry out his role as father and therefore the mother was awarded custody of the child, the child cannot be transferred to the family registry of the mother.

Children born out of wedlock to an unmarried mother can be registered on her family registry only when they are not recognized by the biological father. If so recognized, they are registered on the father’s family registry regardless of what the mother wants. The child is registered in the family registry of the father through the unilateral act of the father, even if the mother has no intention of marrying or maintaining contact with him, and he is not engaged in rearing the child at all.

The husband can register on the family registry a child born to him by a woman other than his wife, regardless of what the wife wants. It is not so rare that the wife is not even aware that the husband has registered a child that she did not give birth to. Meanwhile, when the wife wants to register a child born out of wedlock with another man, she must get consent not only from the husband but also from the head of the family that the child biologically belongs to.

In 1999, a movement to eliminate the family head system was launched by women’s NGO and civic groups. In 2000, the Citizen’s Coalition to Eliminate the Family Head System was founded. The Coalition submitted a petition to eliminate the family head system to the National Assembly in September 2000. In 2001, a lawsuit was filed with the Constitutional Court regarding the unconstitutionality of the provisions on the family head system. The movement continues publicity campaigns and a nationwide signature collection campaign.

Responsibilities and Rights as Parents

Parental rights are guaranteed equally to both parents based on mutual agreement or the decision of the court. (Paragraph 238 and 239 of the Fourth Periodic Report) A proposal to revise the Civil Code is pending at the National Assembly to introduce a provision that “the interests of the child shall be paramount” in custody decisions.

In cases of divorce, securing child support is important issue. But there is no legal or institutional means to enforce child support decisions. The consequence can be grave for the child’s welfare. In 2001, the Korea Legal Aid Center for Family Relations held a symposium on attitudes towards child support and measures to strengthen it. It is in the process of preparing a draft legislation to secure child support, which includes improving the divorce system, establishing a national administrative agency to secure child support, introducing a pre-paid child support system, and imposing criminal penalty against those who do not pay child support despite their financial ability to pay.

Family Planning

The Mother and Child Health Act provides the basis on which family planning projects are carried out.

Guardianship, Wardship, Trusteeship and Adoption of a Child

There is no gender-based discrimination with regard to guardianship, wardship, trusteeship and adoption of children.

Family Name

By custom, the Republic of Korea maintains the principle of spouses entering into a marriage retaining their surnames. The Civil Code has no provision on this matter.

In principle, the child follows the surname and origin of the father.

A movement to use the surnames of both parents started in 1997 among women’s organizations, and the number of women using both parents’ surnames is increasing. But there is not enough public support or research back-up to turn the movement into law at this point.

Property Co-ownership

The Civil Code adopts both the property contract system and the legal property system in relation to the property of married couples. When the spouses themselves do not choose the property contract system, the legal property system automatically applies.

In the past, the property contract system, which provides for the entry and registration of a property contract prior to marriage, was a system or paper only, as it was a social taboo to raise property issues before marriage. In 2001, however, one couple entered into a property contract. Since then, it has drawn the increasinginterest of the would-be-married couples.

With regard to the legal property system, that is the separate ownership of properties under the Civil Code, refer to paragraph 246 of the Fourth Periodic Report.

When a marriage is dissolved through a divorce, a spouse may request the other party for the division of common property. Court decisions in lawsuits requesting the division of common property at divorce have recognized women’s contribution through domestic labor. The contribution is recognized as being between 1/5 to 1/3 of all the properties. When the wife has a job with income, the contribution is recognized to be between 1/3 to 1/2 of the all the properties.

Gift or transferred real estate from the division of property or as alimony are tax exempt, pursuant to the 1997 decision by the Constitutional Court that they are in violation of the principles of taxation by law and equal taxation. (paragraph 247 of the Fourth Periodic Report) However, they are still subject to acquisition tax and registration tax.

Since 2000, the Korea Women’s Hot-line has carried out a movement to promote the joint property title of spouses as a means to facilitate the economic empowerment of women. The organization is planning to call for a revision of the related tax laws, to introduce provisions that would make possible mutual tracing and review of property by spouses.

Inheritance

Children are the primary heirs and inherit an equal amount among themselves regardless of gender.

There is no discrimination against women in terms of inheritance at the death of spouse.

Age for Marriage

A male may get married when he reaches 18 years of age, and a female 16 years of age. The marriage of under-aged couples may be revoked by either party or by his/her legal representative.

Registration of Status

Every citizen is legally obligated to report changes in his/her marital or family status, in accordance with the procedures provided for in the Family Registration Act. All acts that result in a change of status, including birth, marriage, divorce, adoption, nullification of adoption, death, registration, transfer, succession of family head, etc., are effective only when they are reported.

List of Acronyms

KWDI Korea Women’s Development Institute

MHERD Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development

MOGEMinistry of Gender Equality

MOHW Ministry of Health and Welfare