Home | Databases | WorldLII | Search | Feedback United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women - State Party Reports

Republic of Korea - Eighth periodic report of States parties due in 2015 [2015] UNCEDAWSPR 38; CEDAW/C/KOR/8 (5 October 2015)

Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination

against Women

Consideration of reports submitted by States parties under article 18 of the Convention

Eighth periodic report of States parties due in 2015

Note: The present document is being circulated in English, French and Spanish only.

* The present document is being issued without formal editing.

Republic of Korea*

[Date received: 1 September 2015]

Contents

I. Introduction

1. This eighth periodic report of the Republic of Korea encompasses the Government’s key policies for improving women’s status, rights, and welfare, eliminating discrimination against women in all its forms, and realizing gender equality, as well as the Government’s efforts designed to boost women’s economic participation and their results, for the period from the year 2011 to July 2015.

2. Responding to social changes such as a low birth rate, ageing population, and diversifying family structures, the Government introduced policies including life-cycle career management support for working women, provision of programmes to prevent or mitigate women’s career disruption, employment policy for women with disabilities and migrant women, and promotion of flexible work options. In addition, the Government strived to encourage a less burdensome environment for career women in terms of family and social life by reinforcing policies such as paternity leave and family-friendly management certification in order for work-life balance policy to be applied to the entire society, including men, instead of limiting it simply to women.

3. The 2014 restructuring of the Framework Act on Women’s Development (1995) into the Framework Act on Gender Equality shifted the focus of the law from women’s development to the actualization of gender equality and equal participation/treatment of both genders, thus clearly defining the obligation of all citizens to strive to fully actualize everyone’s right to live free from gender-based discrimination.

4. Also, in order to create a safe social environment for women, the protection of women’s human rights and the right to sexual self-determination was emphasized. In particular, the clause on Offences Subject to Complaint was abolished as a means to toughen the punishment for sex offenders, and victim protection policy was made more concrete by implementing regulations on preventing recidivism by sexual offenders, preventing the secondary victimization of children and people with disabilities, and establishing comprehensive support centres for victims of sexual violence.

5. This report is authored by the Korean Women’s Development Institute (KWDI) under the guidance of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family (MOGEF) of the Republic of Korea. As a comprehensive summary of women’s policies implemented at both central administrative organizations and local autonomous bodies, including the National Assembly, the report also reflects comments and feedback from relevant government ministries, the National Human Rights Commission of Korea, and civil organizations such as women’s and human rights groups.

II. Implementation of the Convention during the

Reporting Period

PART I

Article 1

6. In regard to discrimination, the Constitution of the Republic of Korea states in Article 11 Section 1 that “All are equal before the law. No one should suffer discrimination based on their gender, religion, or social status in any part of their political, economic, social, and cultural lives,” and defines further details through Article 31 Section 1 (Equal opportunity for education), Article 32 Section 4 (Protection of female workers and prohibition of discrimination against them), and Article 36 Section 1 (Gender equality in marriage and family life). With a goal of securing equal rights for all, the Korean Government has in place approximately 90 pieces of legislation that prohibit discrimination. In particular, the definition of discrimination against women and remedial measures are prescribed in the National Human Rights Commission Act and the Equal Employment Opportunity and Work-Family Balance Assistance Act.

7. Viewing ‘discriminatory acts’ as a violation of individuals’ right to equality, the National Human Rights Commission Act defines discrimination as “conduct favouring, excluding, segregating, or discriminating against particular individuals in regard to employment (recruitment, hiring, training, deployment, promotion, wage and other benefits, financial loans, retirement, layoff, etc.), provision and utilization of products, services, transportation, commercial facilities, land, and housing facilities, and education and training in educational facilities and vocational training organizations, based on gender, religion, disability, age, social status, region of origin, country of origin, ethnicity, physical appearance, marital status, pregnancy or childbirth, familial situation, race, skin colour, ideology or political orientation, expired criminal record, sexual orientation, or history of illness, but with no legitimate grounding, as well as sexual harassment” (revised on 19 May 2011).

8. The Equal Employment Opportunity and Work-Family Balance Assistance Act, which prescribes discrimination in employment, includes both direct discrimination, in which “the employer applies separate conditions for employment or work or other discriminatory measures to employees based on gender, marital status, family status, or pregnancy or childbirth, with no legitimate grounding” and indirect discrimination in which “although the employer applies equal conditions for employment or work to employees, the imbalance in the ratio of male and female employees who meet such conditions is severe, resulting in disadvantages to one gender and therefore making it impossible to justify the conditions” (revised December 2007).

Article 2

A. New legislation

Gender Impact Analysis and Assessment Act

9. According to the Gender Impact Analysis and Assessment Act (enacted on 15 September 2011), the enactment and revision of laws, mid- to long-term government plans that have their basis in law, and policies that are anticipated to create a significant impact on gender equality are subject to gender impact assessment. The criteria for assessment include gender statistics, gender analysis, and post-assessment improvement measures. The law stipulates a list of organizations subject to gender impact assessment and mandates the reflection of the results of assessment in policies, training of public officials, and support for gender impact assessment.

Child Support Enforcement Act

10. The Child Support Enforcement Act (enacted on 24 March 2014) envisions the creation of the Child Support Agency, the role of which is to provide consultation and mediation for disadvantaged single-parent families in regards to ensuring that the responsible parent pay the required child support, and a support system to offer legal assistance related to the enforcement and collection of child support. This law also introduced a temporary emergency child support system to allow minimum livelihood security for underage children.

Childcare Support Act

11. The Childcare Support Act (enacted on 1 February 2012) is designed to promote customized childcare services to meet the various needs of individual households, reduce the childcare burden of working parents, and respond flexibly to the needs of parents who prefer home-based childcare. The law is also intended to promote the employment of mid- to older-aged women with interrupted careers and to help bolster the childcare capacity of the underprivileged.

B. Revised laws

Framework Act on Gender Equality

12. The 1995 Framework Act on Women’s Development was completely revised into the Framework Act on Gender Equality in May 2014. The purpose of this revision was to transfer the focus of the law from women’s development to the practical actualization of gender equality in an effort to respond to the evolving policy environment, laws, and institutions related to women issues and to mark a watershed point for the creation of a more gender-sensitive society. The law delineates the rights and obligations of the state and its citizens in the actualization of gender equality and promotes gender equality in practical terms by shifting from the concept of maternity protection to that of rights, encompassing both maternity and paternity rights. It also requires central/local governments to adopt gender mainstreaming measures within their administrative processes and newly establishes regulations on gender impact analysis, gender budgeting, gender sensitivity training, and the publication of the Korean Gender Equality Index.

13. It provides a legal basis for the establishment of women-friendly cities in order to allow the systematic and official implementation of women-friendly city projects and to encourage local policies more considerate of women. In terms of efforts to enhance policy implementation, the Gender Equality Committee chaired by the Prime Minister has been incepted to deliberate and coordinate proper implementation of the law. The number of committee members from the private sector has been expanded in order to reflect more diverse opinions in government policy. To implement policies on women in a more efficient manner, Women’s Policy Officers, which had been placed solely within central administrative organizations, were renamed Gender Equality Policy Officers and installed in 17 other municipal and provincial government bodies as well.

Criminal Code

14. In accordance with the revision of the Criminal Code on 18 December 2012, the definition of victim of sexual offences has been changed from ‘girls and women’ to ‘individuals’; provisions defining offences subject to complaint by the victim of sexual offences, which include crimes of abduction, receipt, and concealment for the purpose of sexual harassment or sexual assault, have been eliminated, and the crime of sexual intercourse under pretence of marriage has been abolished on the grounds that it is ineffectual and impairs women’s sexual self-determination.

15. Through a revision on 5 April 2013, the Criminal Code has introduced the crime of human trafficking as part of an effort to implement the United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children; included trafficking for the purpose of prostitution and sexual exploitation as well as for organ harvesting as an offence; and included a rule on globalism allowing non-Koreans with a history of committing similar crimes in other countries who are arrested in the territory of the Republic of Korea to be subject to Korean laws.

Act on the Prevention of Children and Juveniles from Sexual Abuse

16. The revision of this law on 15 September 2011 includes the introduction of punishments for online service providers who fail to take necessary technological measures to immediately delete, prevent, or block the transmission of indecent materials involving minors on the Internet, with a goal of halting online circulation of illegal materials. The law has also strengthened the punishment of sexual offences against disabled minors and for those who sexually abuse minors who are under their protection and supervision or medical treatment. Another measure introduced in this law is a financial incentive for those who report prostitution involving minors.

17. The revision on 1 February 2012 expanded the range of sex crimes against minors to include indecent contact in public places, indecent conduct through ICT devices, and taking indecent photographs using cameras, etc. Furthermore, the period of prescription is exempted for sexual assaults committed against disabled girls under the age of 13, and the provision of no prosecution without consent from the victim was abolished for the crime of indecent contact using power in the workplace.

18. The revision on 18 December 2012, deleted the provisions that stipulated no prosecution without the consent of the victim in the case of crimes of indecent contact in public places and indecent conduct through online media, expanded the range of cases subject to exemption from the provision of the period of prescription, expanded the range of cases subject to exemption from the provision of reduced punishment for crimes committed under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs, and expanded the sex offender community notification system for sex offenders against minors.

Act on the Prevention of Sexual Assault and Protection, etc. of Victims Thereof

19. The Act on the Prevention of Sexual Assault and Protection, etc. of Victims Thereof was enacted on 15 April 2010, based on the now-abolished Act on the Punishment of Sexual Crimes and Protection, etc. of Victims Thereof, with an aim to address protection and victim support separately from the previous legislation. This law prescribes the obligations of the central and local governments in relation to the protection of and support for victims and related others, including education support and the establishment and operation of integrated support centres for victims of sexual assault.

20. According to the revision made on 30 March 2011, the law now allows a legal basis for the provision of sexual violence prevention education at daycares, enables the family members of victims to receive counselling and treatment support at counselling centres and shelters for sexual assault victims, and allows victim support organizations to request police cooperation in order to assist the family members of victims in need of emergency rescue.

21. The revision on 18 December 2012 has expanded the range of organizations obliged to provide sexual violence prevention education to include daycares, schools of all levels, government organizations, local autonomous bodies, and public organizations. In addition, it has initiated a shelter system capable of catering to diverse needs according to the unique characteristics of victims.

22. The revision on 21 January 2014 lays out a legal basis for the provision of integrated education on sexuality, sexual violence, prostitution, sexual harassment, and domestic violence based on a gender equality perspective. The law has also strengthened the effectiveness of sexual violence prevention education by granting the Gender Equality Minister the authority to conduct an annual inspection of the results of education, take necessary measures (e.g. special education for administrators) directed at those institutions and organizations failing to meet standards, publicize the results of inspection through the media, and request that the results of inspection be included in organizations’ performance evaluations.

Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment, etc. of Sexual Crimes

23. This legislation, which was enacted on 15 April 2010, has been separated from the now-defunct Act on the Punishment of Sexual Crimes and Protection, etc. of Victims Thereof in order to independently address issues related to the punishment of sex offenders.

24. The law was revised on 17 November 2011 to separately categorize and strengthen the punishment of sexual assault against individuals with disabilities, increase the penalty for those who rape girls under the age of 13 or women with disabilities to up to life in prison, increase the penalty if heads or employees of facilities established for the purpose of protection and/or education of the disabled sexually abuse individuals with disabilities under their protection and exclude the period of prescription in cases of sexual assault against girls under the age of 13 and disabled women.

25. The revision on 17 January 2012 reinforced preventive measures against sexual assault by adding heads of day-care facilities and schools to the list of recipients of sex offender information.

26. The revision on 18 December 2012 deleted provisions on offences subject to complaint by the victim, expanded the list of crimes exempted from the period of prescription, introduced the crime of infiltrating into public places for sexual purposes, allowed adult victims to hire a lawyer for legal assistance as an enhanced victim-protection measure, dictated the installation and operation of witness support facilities and witness assistants to protect and assist victims and witnesses who come to the court for testimony, introduced a statement-assistance system designed to help victims with communicative difficulties during the investigation process, altered the definition of rape victims from ‘women’ to ‘individuals’, and extended the range of relatives subject to the law to include all ‘cohabiting relatives.’

27. With the revision on 5 April 2013, it was made explicit in the law that the procedures for the special cases prescribed in this law, including special cases regarding the period of prescription, are also applied to the Military Court Act and to service personnel.

28. The revision on 30 December 2014 mandated that offenders subject to community notification include their phone numbers as part of the personal information that they are required to submit so that they may be properly monitored if they change their place of residence and/or workplace.

Act on the Prevention of Domestic Violence and Protection, etc. of Victims

29. The revision on 1 February 2012 granted police officers the authority to enter and investigate the site of violence in order to enable a more active police intervention in domestic violence cases.

30. The revision on 30 July 2013 mandated that central and local governments implement safety measures for the protection of victims and workers at victim support organizations, facilitated the request by victim support organizations for police cooperation, and introduced a provision enabling the separation of the places of investigation for the victim/reporter and the offender.

31. The revision on 21 January 2014 allowed the provision of combined education on domestic violence, sexual violence, prostitution, and sexual harassment based on the perspective of gender equality. In compliance with the amended law, the Minister of Gender Equality and Family can conduct an annual inspection of the outcomes of domestic violence prevention education, mandate necessary measures (e.g. special education for administrators) for institutions and organizations that failed to meet standards, and publicize the results of inspection through the media. As to the violation of the confidentiality provision, the ratio for fines as an alternative to imprisonment has been adjusted to a more appropriate ten million won per one year of imprisonment.

Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment, etc. of Crimes of Domestic Violence

32. The revision on 25 July 2011 granted police officers the authority to impose a temporary separation of victims and offenders or a restraining order. It also introduced a system allowing victims or their legal agents to file for a victim protection order.

33. The revision on 30 December 2014 added quasi-rape to the crime of domestic violence, included employees and heads of Healthy Family Support Centres (in accordance with the Framework Act on Healthy Families) among those obliged to report domestic violence, and introduced measures to ensure the physical safety of victims who need to appear in court proceedings or who are exercising their child visitation rights.

Act on the Prevention of Sexual Trafficking and Protection, etc. of Victims Thereof

34. The revision on 1 February 2012 stipulated that the owners of entertainment businesses must display in clearly obvious locations a notice that prostitution-related debts are legally invalid and another notice featuring the telephone number for hotlines for prostituted victims. Any who fail to meet this requirement are subject to fines.

35. The revision on 27 March 2014 was made to enhance the effectiveness of anti-prostitution policies through expanded follow-up monitoring of anti-prostitution education, designation of an official anti-prostitution week, and the strengthening of public awareness through the production, distribution, and broadcast of antiprostitution promotional videos. It also expanded support for prostituted victims and provided practical tools for their independence and rehabilitation by extending the maximum period of stay at shelters and enhancing support for schooling.

Marriage Brokers Business Management Act

36. The revision on 1 February 2012 was intended to complement the existing provisions for the protection of the rights of those who pursue international marriages and ensure the validity of marriage through the following measures: banning the illegal recruitment and brokerage of international marriages, especially ones involving those under the age of 18, as well as international marriage brokers’ arrangement of group blind dates and shared accommodation; requiring that the personal information of brokerage service users and their partners be notarized in their home countries, including information on any history of mental illnesses, criminal records related to brokering and/or forcing prostitution, and any history of conviction of crimes carrying sentences equal to or more severe than imprisonment with no labour within the past ten years; prohibiting the display and/or advertisement by marriage brokers of content that may violate human rights; and strengthening the penalties for violations of the law. With the 2013 revision, those who have violated criminal and/or administrative regulations in the related foreign countries are banned from operating a marriage brokerage business. The 2014 revision includes the requirement to conduct a survey of international marriages every three years and provides a legal basis for awareness-raising activities designed to prevent victimization in international marriages. The 2015 revision recommends the use of standard contracts for marriage brokerage services and stipulates the inspection of international marriage brokerage agencies at least once per year.

Labour Standards Act

37. The revision on 1 February 2012 allowed female workers who face health risks such as miscarriage or stillbirth to divide their legal maternity leave between pre- and post-natal periods.

38. The revision on 21 January 2014 extended maternity leave from 90 days to 120 days for female workers who are pregnant with two or more foetuses. Paid maternity leave for such cases is extended from 60 to 75 days as well.

Equal Employment Opportunity and Work-Family Balance Assistance Act

39. The revision on 4 February 2014 raised the age limit for childcare leave from a child under the age of three to under the age of nine. It is applied to adopted children as well.

40. The revision on 1 February 2012 was intended to encourage parents to take childcare leave. Male workers with a new-born baby are allowed three to five days of paternity leave, three days of which are paid leave. In the case of non-regular and dispatched workers, the number of days of paternity leave they take should be excluded from the period of their contract. According to this law, employers should allow reduced working hours and family care leave for workers during an infant care period unless it results in a serious interruption or harm to the operations of the business.

41. The revision on 14 January 2014 dictates that employers receive sexual harassment prevention education along with their employees and enables the publication of a list of employers whose ratio of female to male employees has not met legal standards three consecutive times and are thereby identified as employers who have failed to implement affirmative action. As a measure to promote work-family balance and establish a favourable childcare environment for female workers, the age limit for qualification for childcare leave has been adjusted from six to eight years old, or second grade in elementary school.

Act on Livelihood Stability and Memorial Services, etc. for Sexual Slavery Victims for the Japanese Imperial Army

42. The Act on Livelihood Stability and Memorial Services, etc. for Sexual Slavery Victims for the Japanese Imperial Army (revised on 18 December 2012) provides a legal basis for the state to provide victims of sexual slavery by the Japanese Imperial Army with legal consultations and representation. Through a revision on 28 May 2013, central/local governments and social welfare foundations are allowed to operate shelters for sexual slavery victims of the Japanese Imperial Army.

C. Policies

Symposiums and education for legal professionals

43. The International Human Rights Law Study Group, a voluntary study group among Supreme Court Justices, holds a monthly meeting to examine international human rights issues. In 2013, the group, jointly with the Ministry of Justice’s international human rights laws study group, held a symposium on the implementation of international human rights laws in Korea and the prohibition of discrimination. In December 2014, the Supreme Court International Human Rights Laws Study Group translated into Korean and published Human Rights in the Administration of Justice: A Manual on Human Rights for Judges, Prosecutors and Lawyers, which was issued by the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in cooperation with the International Bar Association. Since 2011, the Korean Bar Association has conducted a symposium every December on how to implement international human rights recommendations in Korea. The theme for the 2011 and 2012 symposiums was discrimination against women. On 19 September 2012, the National Human Rights Commission of Korea invited legal professionals and officials from the Justice Ministry to the conference CEDAW Recommendations in the Areas of Legislation and Justice and How to Implement Them as a means to review how the recommendations from the forty-ninth CEDAW session were being implemented in the legislative and judicial sectors and to discuss the remaining agenda and avenues for implementation. Targeting female and trainee lawyers, the Korean Bar Association Female Lawyers Special Committee held a lecture entitled Understanding the UN CEDAW and Prospects for Female Lawyers Aspiring to Work for International Organizations on 10 December 2012. This lecture was included within the mandatory training hours for lawyers assigned by the Attorney-At-Law Act.

Article 3

Expansion of the Gender Impact Analysis programme

44. Since its implementation in 2005, the number of participating organizations and areas for gender impact analysis and assessment has been increasing. In particular, the establishment of the Gender Impact Analysis and Assessment Act in 2011 expanded the coverage of policies subject to the law from existing programmes to laws and plans, enabling a systematic and comprehensive evaluation of the gender impact of government policies. Furthermore, the Government has operated gender impact analysis centres at the central and local levels in order to help guide programmes, laws, and plans. With active cooperation and participation from central and local governments, the average number of projects subject to gender impact analysis per organization grew from 1.6 in 2005 to 6.4 in 2009 and to 8.2 in 2010. When the law took effect in 2012, the number surged to 49 in 2012 and to 67 in 2013 (See Table 1).

Expansion of gender budgeting and introduction in local governments

45. Gender Responsive Budgeting incorporates a predictive analysis of the impacts of government budgets on women and men to ensure that both benefit equally from budgets. The National Finance Act of 2006 provided legal grounds for employing gender-sensitive budgeting, and the revision of this act in 2010 expanded the range of projects subject to gender budgeting to include projects operated with government funds and stipulated a statement be prepared regarding the expected effects of gender equality and performance objectives. The number of projects subject to gender budgeting has increased from 195 in 2010 to 343 in 2015, and the relevant budget has expanded by 18.748 trillion won (based on government estimates) from 7.314 trillion won to 26.626 trillion won (6.9 per cent of total government expenditures for 2015) during the same period. In addition to this quantitative growth, the system has matured qualitatively as well. For example, participating organizations now set gender equality goals and target outcomes, the link between gender budgeting and gender impact analysis has been strengthened by coordinating the criteria for selection of target projects, and systematic gender sensitivity education and a gender budgeting manual continue to be provided to those responsible for gender budgeting within each organization. To address the lack of an organization responsible for gender budgeting, a permanent cooperative body was established in 2014 among the Ministry of Strategy and Finance and related ministries.

46. Based on the 2011 revision of the Local Finance Act which introduced gender-sensitive budgeting in local governments, the Ministry of Government Administration and Security and the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family conducted pilot projects for gender budgeting among local autonomous bodies in 2012. In the same year, the 2013 Gender Budget Statements, the first of its kind for local governments, were submitted to local councils (11,803 projects with 12.599 trillion won total budget). The number of projects increased by 12.67 per cent (1,496) and the amount of pertinent budget by 16.95 per cent (2.135 trillion won) in the 2014 Gender Budget Statements (Table 2).

Development of the Korean Gender Equality Index and enhancing balance across sectors

47. In 2009, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family developed the Korean Gender Equality Index (KGEI) with an aim to assist the Government’s gender equality efforts by identifying the ongoing status of gender equality in the country and monitoring its progress. In 2011, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family introduced the Regional Gender Equality Index to measure the level of gender equality by city and province and support the closure of gender gaps in vulnerable areas within a given region. The Framework Act on Gender Equality provides a legal basis for the measurement and publication of the Korean Gender Equality Index. Based on this law, the index has been restructured into eight categories — economic activities, decision-making, education/vocational training, welfare, health, safety, family, and culture/information — and 23 indices. According to the 2014 Gender Equality Report of the Republic of Korea, the Korean Gender Equality Index has continued to rise from 64.8 in 2009 to 66.5 in 2011, and 68.5 in 2013 (Table 3).

International cooperation for gender-sensitive development aid projects

48. In the Framework Act on International Development Cooperation, Korea upholds the promotion of the human rights of women and children and the actualization of gender equality as a basic tenet of its overseas development aid and pursues gender sensitivity in such efforts through the pursuit of cross-sectional values, including gender equality, as a strategic goal. In 2013, the Korean Government directed 112 million United States dollars to development aid programmes related to gender equality, the scale of which is increasing along with the expansion of government ODA. The Government has also contributed 4.7 million United States dollars per year since 2011 to UN-Women for the establishment of gender-responsive peace, leadership programmes for women in Africa, and gender-sensitive statistics. It also provides human resource support to the agency based on the memorandum of understanding signed in December 2011 (Table 4).

49. At the 4th High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness held in November 2011 in Busan, the Government of the Republic of Korea held a special meeting on gender equality jointly with the United States and UN-Women to adopt the Busan Joint Action Plan for Gender Equality and Development. This action plan includes the Evidence and Data for Gender Equality (EDGE) initiative aimed at supporting the compilation and utilization of the gender-segregated data needed to create effective policies for economic empowerment and expansion of educational opportunities for women in developing countries.

50. The Republic of Korea established a national action plan for the implementation of Security Council resolution 1325 (2000) on women, peace and security in May 2014. This plan includes support for expanded social participation by women in conflict and conflict-prone areas, as well as protection and rehabilitation support through development aid for female victims in conflict areas. Biannual monitoring is in place to oversee its implementation and progress.

Article 4

Legal measures to increase women’s participation in government committees

51. The rate of women’s participation in governmental committees under the ministries of the central government refers to the level of participation of women in committees established by law or Presidential decree among all government committees. Women’s participation in government committees is important for the planning of gender-sensitive policies as part of the process of determining national policies. Through the revision of the Framework Act on Women’s Development in August 2013 (enforced from February 2014), the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family has recommended that the proportion of each gender among appointed members of government committees be limited to 60 per cent and mandated that women’s participation reach 40 per cent by 2017. The women’s participation rate in all 457 government committees of 44 central administrative organizations as of 2014 was 31.7 per cent, which is 4 percentage points higher than the prior year and 2.1 percentage points higher compared to the first half of 2014, surpassing 30 per cent for the first time (Table 5).

52. In the case of a particular field with a significantly small pool of available female human resources, an exception to the previous rule can be allowed by a decision of the Women’s Policy Coordination Meeting’s working-level session, chaired by the Vice Minister of Gender Equality and Family, which is required to set a goal concerning the expansion of the female rate of participation in central government committees to be met by 2017 and to review the committees that failed to meet the 40 per cent target rate for underlying reasons and provide recommendations. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family cooperates with relevant ministries to develop female resources across all areas of society in order to recommend and support capable women for government committees.

Nomination quota for female politicians

53. The nomination quota for female politicians aims to expand women’s political participation by setting a minimum proportion of female candidates for nomination by parties. In accordance with the revision of Sections 3 and 4 of Article 47 of the Public Official Election Act in August 2005, parties should nominate 50 per cent or more female candidates in elections for National Assembly proportional representative members and proportional local council members. They should recommend female candidates for 30 per cent or more of all local constituencies in elections for local constituency-based National Assembly seats and local constituency-based council members. Through the revision of the Political Funds Act, including the pertinent Article 26, a subsidy system linked with the nomination of female candidates has been introduced as an incentive to encourage parties to meet the female candidate quota.

54. In March 2010, Article 47 Section 5and Article 52 Section 2 were introduced to the Public Official Election Act in order to mandate that parties nominate at least one female candidate for the Gwangyeok (major urban governments) or Gicho (small cities and provincial governments) councils in every local constituency (excluding gun districts). If they fail to do so, the party’s entire candidate slate is nullified. As a result, a total of 854 of 1,825 female candidates (21.6 per cent) were elected in the nationwide local elections in June 2014. This is an increase of 107 women (1.6 percentage points) from the 747 women (20.0 per cent) in the fifth local elections in 2010 (Table 6). The proportion of female members in the 19th National Assembly in 2012 marked 15.7 per cent, which is a 2 percentage points increase from the 13.7 per cent in the 18th National Assembly (Table 7).

Capacity-building support for female human resources in the public sector

55. The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family has established the Academy for Promising Women in 2013 with an aim to raise female leaders and high-level public officials. The initial target number for trainees at the Academy was 30,000 by 2017. For the 2013 pilot programme, 2,127 women participated and reported a high satisfaction rate of 4.5 points out of 5.0. After the pilot period, the Academy boosted participation by women managers through collaboration with corporations, central government ministries, and women’s professional organizations, and through diversified programmes including online content, on-site training, and weekend courses. As a result, 7,014 women managers (5,601 at on-site sessions and 1,413 through online courses) were trained in 2014. In 2015, 7,000 women are expected to receive training through the Academy. To increase the participation of local women, training centre bases were established in six regions in 2014 and two additional centres are planned to open in 2015.

Affirmative action measures

56. In accordance with the Equal Employment Opportunity and Work-Family Balance Assistance Act, affirmative action measures have been implemented since 2006 with an aim to stimulating women’s economic participation. To comply with this law, both public organizations and private enterprises surpassing a certain number of employees should annually submit to the Minister of Labour and Employment statistics on male and female employees by work type and position and their implementation plan for affirmative action. Incentives are provided to companies that show positive results from their affirmative action measures. With the 2013 revision of the Enforcement Decree of this act, the proportion of female employees, which is the baseline criteria for the selection of companies required to submit an implementation plan for affirmative action, has been raised from less than 60 per cent of the industry average to less than 70 per cent. The law has also established a legal basis for the publication of the list of companies failing to implement affirmative action measures. Since the introduction of affirmative action measures in 2006, the proportion of female workers in relevant public organizations has been on a constant rise, from 30.1 per cent in 2010 to 33.6 per cent in 2013 and 35.7 per cent in 2014, while the proportion of female workers in managerial positions has increased from 9.9 per cent in 2010 to 11.6 per cent in 2013 and 13.9 per cent in 2014 (Table 8).

Article 5

Abolition of sex-crime offences subject to complaint by the victim

57. The Criminal Code, the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment, etc. of Sex Crimes, and the Act on the Protection of Children and Juveniles from Sexual Abuse were all revised to completely abolish offences subject to complaint by the victim in sexual assault cases (amended on 18 December 2012 and taking effect on 19 June 2013). With this elimination, law enforcement authorities no longer require a complaint from a victim in order to investigate and prosecute sex criminals. This has addressed the issue of offenders pressuring victims to settle cases prior to prosecution, which resulted in distress for victims, as well as the issue of the discontinuation of investigations due to the victim dropping the case. When the abolition took effect in the second half of 2013, the number of complaints made by victims fell by about 300 cases compared to the first half of the year, but the number of reports by victims rose by about 1,900 cases (Table 9).

58. According to crime statistics from the Prosecution Service, the number of reported sexual assault cases increased from 19,939 in 2010 to 22,034 in 2011 and 26,919 in 2013. One of major reasons behind this growth appears to be an increase in the number of those reporting a crime thanks to expanded victim support services. The prosecution rate for sexual assault crimes rose from 42.9 per cent in 2010 to 52 per cent in 2013. As part of the efforts to reduce secondary victimization in sexual violence cases, media reporting guidelines for sexual violence cases were created and distributed to news agencies along with related education in 2014.

Promoting effective protection of domestic violence victims

59. The crime statistics provided by the Prosecution Service show that the number of domestic violence offenders subject to legal proceedings grew from 6,939 in 2010 to 19,561 in 2013. During the same period, the number of those prosecuted for domestic violence increased from 1,038 to 2,959 and the number of cases referred to the family court rose from 1,095 to 4,706. All in all, the combined proportion of prosecuted cases and referrals to the family court grew from 30.7 per cent in 2010 to 39.2 per cent in 2012. The number of temporary emergency measures imposed by law enforcement agencies surged from 14 cases in 2011 to 1,002 cases in 2013, which can be partly attributed to successful training and shifting perceptions of domestic violence among police officers. The Government has made efforts to implement practical and effective measures to protect victims from abusers by both revising and newly enacting laws (See in Article 2 paragraphs 32-33).

60. A 2013 national survey on domestic violence identified a need for more active promotion of victim support services and related systems designed to raise public awareness. In response, in August 2014 the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family designated the eighth day of every month as the Bora Day — ’bora’ means

‘look’ — for carrying out anti-domestic violence campaigns.

Enhancing efforts to prevent recidivism in sexual offences

61. The Act on Pharmacologic Treatment of Sex Offenders Sexual Impulses (enacted on 23 July 2010) was incepted to provide a legal foundation for pharmacological intervention among sex offenders who have assaulted a victim under the age of 16 and are believed to show potential for recidivism. Pharmacological interventions can be accompanied by correction and rehabilitation measures for up to 15 years. In 2008, a treatment and rehabilitation centre was established to manage approximately 100 sex offenders and was expanded in 2011 to accommodate 200 offenders. Intensive treatment centres have been installed in four prisons distributed across the country in order to provide intensive reform programmes, including gender sensitivity education. The personal information of sex offenders, which could formerly be obtained only at a police station, can now be viewed on the Internet, and since January 2011 the personal information of sex offenders has been mailed out to residents in the community where an offender lives. Another measure introduced in July 2014 to prevent the repetition of crimes by sex offenders is an e-notification smartphone application service that provides the personal information of sex offenders subject to electronic monitoring. Over six months from July to December 2014, the sex offender notification application was downloaded more than 458,000 times and accessed 2.658 million times.

Outcomes regarding support for victims of violence against women

62. Regarding support for victims of violence against women, the Korean Government has been operating integrated support centres for sexual assault victims and providing subsidies to private sexual/domestic violence counselling centres. In 2014, a total of 28,487 women received support services through integrated support centres for sexual assault victims, which is a 3.8 per cent from the year before. The number of occasions of service provision rose by 28.5 per cent to 260,005 in 2013 (Table 10). Between 2010 and 2014, the number of integrated support centres for sexual assault victims increased from 27 to 34. The total number of counselling cases provided by the 18 Women’s Hotline 1366 Centres across the nation went up by 45.1 per cent from 183,240 in 2010 to 265,792 in 2014 (Table 11). The number of cases supported by private domestic violence counselling services was 291,244 in 2014 (Table 12), along with 146,750 by sexual violence counselling services in the same year (Table 13). A total of 189 domestic violence and sexual violence counselling centres and 93 shelters are subsidized by the Government as of 2014. Compared to 2010, nine shelters for sexual violence victims and one shelter for domestic violence victims have been added (Table 14). The number of cases supported by the free legal aid programme for victims of domestic violence and sexual violence that began in 2003 rose from 4,303 in 2010 to 6,687 in 2014.

Prevention and protection efforts for migrant women afflicted by domestic violence

63. Since the 2006 establishment of Emergency Support Centre for Migrant Women targeting migrant women victimized by domestic violence, the centre has continued to expand its services. As of 2014, it offers services in 13 languages. Local centres have been established to improve on-site and family counselling. In April 2014, the Danuri Call Centre (1577-1366) began operating as a one-stop support centre that offers emergency counselling as well as information on living in Korea (Table 15). With the introduction of a housing support programme in 2008, a total of 203 houses provide accommodation to 239 households and 565 victims and their families as of 2014. In shelters which provide safe housing, counselling, medical and legal services, and support for returning to home countries for migrant women and their children afflicted by domestic violence, the average number of residents nationwide rose from 17 in 2008 to 291 in 2014 (Table 16).

Prevention and victim protection measures in regard to sexual assault against the disabled

64. In 2010, provisions on the period of prescription and offences subject to complaint by the victim were abolished in regard to sexual assault against the disabled. Professional statement-validity analysts were introduced at integrated support centres for sexual abuse victims in 2011, statement assistants were introduced at the centres in 2014 in an effort to mediate for and assist disabled victims with communication difficulties in making statements about an assault. In 2011, six government ministries partnered to devise Measures to Prevent Sexual Assault against the Disabled and Protect Victims to strengthen the prohibitions on offenders entering the teaching profession, expand the definition of sexual assault, introduce a legal assistant system for disabled victims, implement measures to promote transparency in social welfare entities and facilities for the protection of the human rights of disabled individuals, and improve the monitoring of sexual assault.

Strengthening victim support by improving the investigation system for child sexual abuse

65. In 2011, child/adolescent victims of sexual abuse were allowed to be accompanied by lawyers or public defenders if they are required to testify in court. Videotaping was mandated when interviewing a victim in order to prevent secondary victimization stemming from repeated testimony in court proceedings. In 2014, a pilot cooperation programme using video conferencing technology was installed between the Boramae One-stop Support Centre and the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office as part of an effort to minimize secondary victimization of victims due to the need to superfluously repeat statements during the investigation process. In 2011, the Government attempted to prevent sex crimes and recidivism by reinforcing regulations on indecent materials involving children and adolescents, strengthening online service providers’ obligation to detect and delete child pornographic materials circulating on their networks, and expanding the range of violations subject to sex offender registration, notification methods, and access to sex offender information. The introduction of the statement assistance on

19 December 2013, which allowed the participation of a professional assistant in investigative and court procedures to help victimized children with their statements, was a step toward the mitigation of secondary victimization while providing an opportunity to increase clarity and better pursue the truth.

Efforts to raise awareness of gender equality: education, incentives, and promotion

66. While gender equality education is required for all, priority has been given to those in public positions, such as civil servants, teachers, and employees of public organizations. The Korean Institute for Gender Equality Promotion and Education (KIGEPE), launched in 2003 with a goal of providing systematic gender equality education to public officials, has continued to expand the original public servant focus of its programmes to include more diverse audiences and develop educational content and methods customized to the needs of varied groups. In 2010, the KIGEPE was approved by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology as a Distance Teacher Training Centre to provide gender equality education to teachers. In 2014, the KIGEPE offered eight courses on gender equality and gender violence to a total of 2,203 elementary and secondary school teachers. To complement its offline education, the institute launched online courses in 2011 in order to increase the accessibility to gender equality education. The number of those who have completed online courses has continued to rise, especially among members of central administrative organizations, local autonomous bodies, public organizations, and teaching institutions, increasing from 44,725 in 2011 to 46,736 in 2012, 48,267 in 2013, and 52,285 in 2014.

67. In order to expand the educational platform for raising gender equality awareness among the entire population, the KIGEPE launched a website known as Gender Equality Media in March 2015 to provide mobile educational content through social networking services. This mobile content includes basic concepts and everyday examples of gender equality for a general population generally less exposed to gender equality education.

68. The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family awards gender-sensitive programmes in the mass media in an effort to promote the values and best practices of gender equality among the general public. The awards introduced a news reports category in 2013 in order to recognize gender-sensitive news reports and current affairs programmes. Meanwhile, the 2008 revision of the Framework Act on Women’s Development defined the responsibilities of the central and local governments to support the elimination of gender-based discriminatory content in the media. Applying the monitoring and evaluation guidelines on gender discrimination in the mass media developed in 2001, the contents of television series, news, current affairs shows, entertainment shows, and television commercials on both terrestrial and cable television channels are continuously monitored.

Enhancing anti-sexual harassment measures at public organizations and workplaces

69. After Article 17-2 was introduced to the Framework Act on Women’s Development in 2006 prescribing the obligations of the heads of public organizations to implement measures to prevent workplace sexual harassment, the laws were revised in 2013 to mandate the announcement of the results of the related assessment and to enable requests for the punishment of violators and reflect this in the performance evaluation of the organization if it is confirmed that there have been repeated offences or attempts to cover up sexual harassment cases within the organization. According to an analysis of anti-sexual harassment measures among public organizations between 2010 and 2013, 98.5 per cent of 15,818 organizations in 2010, 98.9 per cent of 15,650 in 2011, 99.6 per cent of 15,932 in 2012, and 99.7 per cent of 16,600 in 2013 conducted sexual harassment prevention education for their employees. Along with this continued expansion of anti-sexual harassment education, the proportion of those maintaining a complaint deliberation committee (90.7 per cent in 2013, 0.7 percentage points increase from 2012) and that of those supporting designated sexual harassment counsellors (94.7 per cent in 2013, 0.5 percentage points increase from 2012) have continued to rise, indicating the improved effectiveness of anti-sexual harassment measures.

70. Training has been delivered to sexual harassment counsellors at public organizations, local autonomous bodies, Offices of Education, and schools (852 persons in total in 2013) with a goal to promote their expertise and practices in counselling, case investigation, and establishment of measures to prevent future harassment. The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family has also been developing and distributing a diverse range of educational materials on an annual basis in order to assist public organizations to more effectively conduct anti-sexual harassment education. One example is the production of a video in 2013 that shows potential situations of sexual harassment in the workplace and how to support victims and explain the appropriate roles of counsellors. The revision of the Enforcement Decree of the Framework Act on Women’s Development on 17 June 2014, dictates the provision of annual anti-sexual harassment education and hour-long minimum training sessions for workers at state-run organizations, and that the first education session is to be provided within two months from the day of appointment of new employees. It also mandates that organizations with reported cases of sexual harassment must establish measures to prevent repeated occurrences.

71. The National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) has enhanced its efforts to monitor areas prone to sexual harassment by conducting a survey on sexual harassment/assault at universities (2012), a survey of the human rights status of servicewomen (2012), and a survey of sexual harassment during medical examinations (2013). Based on the results, in 2013, the NHRCK recommended polices for preventing sexual harassment/assault and to enhance victim support in universities to both the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family. Also in the same year, the NHRCK recommended comprehensive policy measures to promote the human rights of servicewomen, including measures to prevent sexual harassment and sexual violence in the military. In 2014, the human rights commission released a preventive video addressing sexual harassment in the military, and the NHRCK published and disseminated its guidelines to medical institutions for the prevention of sexual harassment during the process of medical examinations.

72. The Ministry of Employment and Labour provides free lecturers to small businesses, which may face a greater risk of sexual harassment but lack the resources to provide preventive education. In 2013, the Ministry provided antisexual harassment education to 11,164 workers at 336 companies. In 2012, a smartphone application was developed as a hotline service through which users can report and receive counselling on sexual harassment. Anti-sexual harassment leaflets and videos were produced and disseminated as well. In 2013, the leaflet was translated into five languages and 200,000 copies were distributed to businesses with non-Korean female workers.

Article 6

Protection of and support for prostituted victims

73. The Act on the Punishment of Acts of Arranging Sexual Trafficking decriminalizes prostituted victims in accordance with provisions on the protection of victims. In addition, if there is substantial cause to believe that a suspect or witness is a victim of prostitution, this fact should be immediately notified to her legal representative, family, or lawyer so that necessary protective measures can be applied, including physical protection, confidential investigation, referral to family members, shelters or prostitution victim counselling centres. Both the court and law enforcement agencies can allow designated reporters and witnesses to be accompanied by trusted individuals upon their own request, that of their legal representatives, or of prosecutors.

74. Since the establishment of the anti-prostitution act, victim support organizations have been launched in an effort to provide on-site counselling, emergency rescue, legal and medical support, and vocational training to help victims escape from prostitution and prevent their re-entry into the sex industry (Table 17). In order to combat adolescent prostitution in particular, one main centre and ten regional centres were designated in 2011 for the provision of customized education on medical, legal, and rehabilitation support, as well as case management of prostituted adolescent victims. In 2012, a total of 355 adolescents received such education (Table 18). This education is offered in differentiated focused streams, such as medical/legal information, schooling, and independence, based on the needs of participants and facilitates case management as well. In 2011, an online peer counselling programme was launched to approach youths who open chat rooms on what are known as “conditional dating” sites for attracting sex buyers and attempt to talk them out of prostitution.

75. Counselling, medical and legal support services have continued to help prostituted women escape from prostitution and prevent their re-entry into the sex industry. While the number of counselling cases contacted by counselling centres for prostituted victims increased from 46,748 in 2009 and 45,817 in 2010 to 57,261 in 2013, the total number of women who received further support decreased from 9,892 in 2009 to 7,360 in 2010 and 6,557 in 2013 (Table 19). The number of rescue support cases rose from 30,545 in 2009 to 38,976 in 2013 (Table 20). The budget assigned to the support of prostituted victims rose from 11.1 billion won in 2010 to 11.5 billion won in 2013, and the number of victim support organizations increased from 87 in 2010 to 91 in 2014.

Protection of non-Korean prostituted victims

76. Regarding non-Korean prostituted victims who came to Korea with an E-6 Visa to work in the entertainment industry, the Ministry of Justice introduced a system in 2013 to provide G-1 visas to victims for whom the Minister of Justice recognizes the need for humanitarian consideration. A G-1 visa can be granted to non-Koreans who are engaging in a remedial process for a human rights violation, such as forced prostitution, and approved as subjects for deliverance by the Committee on the Protection and Promotion of the Human Rights of Foreigners. In such a case, a work permit is also granted. As of 2014, 1,658 of 5,162 E-6 visa holders (32.1 per cent) stayed in the country illegally. On 10 July 2014, the Government submitted the motion regarding the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, which supplements the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime to the National Assembly. On May 29 in 2015, the National Assembly passed this motion, thereby the ratification process is expected to be completed.

PART II

Article 7

Proportion of female public officials

77. The proportion of female public officials in central government ministries (state/national public officials pertaining to the executive branch) has been on a constant rise. The figure grew by 2 per cent from 46.1 per cent in 2009 to 48.1 per cent in 2013 (Table 21). The proportion of female public officials within local autonomous bodies has also continued to grow, from 32.0 per cent in 2009 to 34.1 per cent in 2013. The proportion of female administrators at Level 5 or higher among local public officials rose from 7.4 per cent to 10.3 per cent (Table 22).

Proportion of female judges and prosecutors

78. The proportion of female judges and prosecutors has been on the increase, rising from 20.9 per cent in 2009 to 26.5 per cent in 2013. While the figure is lower than that of female public servants in the executive branch, it is growing at a faster rate and is expected to continue to do so in the future as well (Table 23).

Proportion of female public officials at Level 4 or higher

79. The proportion of female public officials in influential positions is significant in the planning and implementation of gender-sensitive state policies. For this reason, the First Plan to Expand the Proportion of Female Administrators (2002-2006) aimed to increase the proportion of female public officials at Level 5 or higher to 10 per cent. The second plan (2007-2011) raised the target rank from Level 5 to Level 4 and aimed at 10 per cent of female public officials at Level 4 or higher. While the original plan was to increase the proportion of female public officials at Level 4 or higher to 13 per cent by 2016, related ministries established the Plan to Improve Women’s Representation in the Public Sector in December 2013 as a means to strengthen the implementation of the policy to improve women’s representation. Accordingly, the goal was adjusted to 15 per cent by 2017, and its progress is being monitored biannually. The Ministry of Personnel Management supports the initiative by including the status of women’s representation in its government performance evaluation. Thanks to such efforts, the proportion of female administrators as of late 2013 had reached 9.9 per cent, which is a 1.5 percentage point increase from 2011 (Table 24).

Proportion of female employees at public organizations

80. Public organizations refer to companies and organizations established by central and local governments to carry out governmental projects. Affirmative action measures have been continuously implemented in order to raise the proportion of female employees and administrators in public organizations. The revision of the Enforcement Decree on the Equal Employment Opportunity and Work-Family Balance Assistance Act finalized in May 2013 expanded the guidelines for organizations subject to such measures from those with 50 or more employees to all public organizations. As a consequence, the proportion of female employees at public organizations rose from 32.3 per cent in 2012 to 35.6 per cent in 2014, while that of female administrators increased from 11.9 per cent to 13.9 per cent over the same period (Table 25). In 2014, the Ministry of Strategy and Finance introduced its Quota System for Female Managers at Public Organizations and encouraged all public organizations to implement their own annual expansion plan to increase the ratio of director-level women managers and reflect the results in their performance evaluation report. According to this quota plan, the proportion of female managers at public organizations will swell from 12.7 per cent in 2013 to 18.6 per cent by 2017. Also, the Strategy and Finance Ministry required public organizations to state the number of women employees by position level as part of their company information listed on ALIO, a public information site operated by the Ministry.

Proportion of female principals and vice-principals

81. City and provincial offices of education have independently determined and implemented a target proportion of female principals and vice-principals for their schools since 2013. As a result of such measures, the proportion of female principals and vice-principals reached 29.4 per cent as of April 2014, already surpassing that year’s nationwide goal of 28.4 per cent. The Ministry of Education has raised its initial target of 33.5 per cent for 2017 to 36.0 per cent in April 2015 and is encouraging city and provincial offices of education to readjust their targets accordingly (Table 26).

Proportion of female professors at national and public universities

82. The National Human Resources Development Plan was first drafted in 2001 and included among its four main strategies the “maximized utilization of female resources.” In particular, it was argued that the proportion of female professors at national/public universities should be elevated in order to create a more gender-sensitive culture in universities, address the serious gender imbalance among professors and promote the utilization of female human resources in tertiary education. A target quota for female professors at national/public universities has been implemented since 2003; as a result, the proportion of female professors at national/public universities has gradually increased from 12.8 per cent in 2009 to 13.7 per cent in 2012, 14.1 per cent in 2013, and 14.5 per cent in 2014 (Table 27).

Article 8

Female human resources in the diplomacy field

83. The proportion of women who pass the state exam for the selection of candidates for diplomatic positions, which is a major entry point for becoming public officials in the diplomacy field, has mounted rapidly ; the figure increased from 55.2 per cent in 2011 to 53.1 per cent in 2012 and 59.5 per cent in 2013. In 2014, 56.4 per cent of successful exam takers were women. Since 2010, the proportion of women who pass the diplomat selection exam has been hovering over 50 per cent, which exceeds the rate observed for other state public official selection exams (legislative, judicial, and executive branches). The proportion of women among public officials in the diplomacy field increased from 28.9 per cent in 2010 to 32.7 per cent in 2014, and the figure has reached 47.9 per cent for the headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Table 28). The proportion of women in government committees under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has continued to rise, increasing from 16 per cent in 2011 and reaching 29 per cent as of April 2015.

Participation in international organizations

84. Currently, 197 of 530 Koreans working at international organizations, including the United Nations Secretariat, are women. In particular, positions including the deputy head of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, and Representative for the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights are currently being held by Korean women. Also, an international internship programme for women professionals was initiated by the Government based on Article 27 of the Framework Act on Women’s Development. This programme started with four participants in 2002, and by 2013, it had supported a total of 195 women, including for international organizational conferences and internships. As to the Junior Professional Officer programme designed to encourage the entrance of Koreans into international organizations, women have accounted for 75 per cent of participants since its inception in 2010.

Article 9

Not applicable.

PART III

Article 10

Proportion of female students in tertiary education and the diversification of their majors

85. Thanks to policy efforts designed to elevate women’s education rate and encourage their selection of majors outside those once considered traditional for women, women’s participation in education is now similar to that of men. Since 2009, the college entrance rate among women has actually surpassed that of their male counterparts (Table 29). In order to promote the rate and quality of women’s employment, efforts have continued to be extended to encourage female students to select science and engineering majors, which are characterized by greater demand in the labour market. At medical and pharmaceutical schools, the proportion of female students went up from 5.8 per cent in 2010 to 7.6 per cent in 2013, and from 9.5 per cent to 10.2 per cent among engineering majors during the same period. Humanities majors, which traditionally showed a large proportion of female students, have seen fewer female students over time (Table 30).

Support for career development of female students

86. The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family installed in 2003 a programme to support the career development of female students, with a goal of effectively addressing structural challenges faced by women in the labour market, such as gender discrimination and career disruption. This was designed to empower young women throughout the career development process and support their mid- to longterm economic participation through enhancement of gender awareness and career coaching. In 2014, 40 universities were selected for the programme and provided with support. As of 2014, a total of 60,780 female students had taken advantage of the programme and the reported level of satisfaction among users had proven very high with 84.7 out of 100 points. This programme also offers, to the degree possible, career education and mentoring for female high school students.

87. Since 2002, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family has operated an online mentoring programme in which female mentors share their knowledge and professionalism and provide support to young women developing careers in their areas of interest. This programme, which is facilitated through online and offline meetings between mentors and mentees, offers a chance for women to expand their networks. In the period between 2002 and 2014, a total of 8,933 mentors and mentees were matched.

Enhancing gender equality in elementary and secondary education

88. A range of efforts have continued to hone the effectiveness of gender equality education in elementary and secondary schools. Examples of such include strengthening gender equality education in the curriculum, promoting expertise in gender equality education, and evaluating of gender equality education. In terms of curriculum, programmes on human rights sensitivity, leading a gender-sensitive life, gender equality in the family, and stories of gender equality in history have been conducted. As for the promotion of expertise in gender equality education, training has been offered to those in charge of gender equality education and related personnel. Gender equality education has been conducted on an annual basis by schools, based on the manual offered for education. Since 2013, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family has created gender equality learning materials for creative experiential activities by elementary school children (for lower-grade students, middle-grade students, higher-grade students, and teachers) and distributed them to gender equality pilot and leading schools.

Cultivation of female scientists and engineers

89. The Act on Fostering and Supporting Women Scientists and Technicians was established in 2002 with an aim to cultivate and promote female scientists and engineers. In particular, the Second Basic Plan to Cultivate and Support Female Scientists and Engineers (2009-2013) was implemented with goals to produce 1,000 female doctors of science and engineering every year (705 persons in 2007 to 1,155 persons in 2013); secure a minimum of 10 per cent of the jobs in the science and engineering sector for women (9.8 per cent in 2007 to 13 per cent in 2012); and raise the proportion of female researcher-in-charge research and development projects to 10 per cent (8.9 per cent in 2007 to 11.6 per cent in 2012).

90. As part of the efforts to prevent the career disruption of female scientists and engineers and to expand female research and development human resources, related ministries — the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning, Ministry of Employment and Labour, and Ministry of Gender Equality and Family — devised measures to expand female research and development human resources in industry in November 2013. Based on these measures, they created a public-private cooperation body in March 2014 and took steps to promote an environment that encourages the employment of female scientists and engineers by operating an employment forum. Thanks to these efforts, the overall proportion of female researchers expanded from 11.4 per cent (26,955 persons from a total of 235,596 persons) in 2010 to 14.3 per cent (43,300 persons from a total of 302,486 persons) in 2014. The number of research projects designed to support the return of female scientists and engineers to the research and development sector increased from 39 in 2012 to 100 in 2014.

91. In 2014, the K-Girls’ Day programme was launched as part of efforts to address gender imbalances in the science and engineering sector. New female students in engineering-related disciplines in 2013 amounted to only 21.16 per cent. The goal of this initiative is to stimulate a positive interest in engineering among female students and encourage them to pursue careers in the field by providing an opportunity to personally experience the work in companies, research institutes, or universities one day per year. A total of 1,876 female middle school, high school, and university students participated in 95 programmes in 2014, and 1,852 in 109 programmes in 2015 (Table 31). According to a 2015 participant satisfaction survey, the rate of positive perceptions of a science and engineering career rose by 27.3 per cent compared to their perceptions prior to participating in the programme (Table 32).

Article 11

Establishment of policies to promote women’s economic activities

92. Over the reporting period, women’s economic participation has gradually increased (Table 33). In 2013, the invigoration of women’s employment was a key assignment for national affairs and in the Three Year Plan for Economic Innovation. In 2014, further efforts were made to stimulate the employment of women, such as the introduction of the Lifecycle Career Management Support Plan for Female Workers and the Follow-Up Plan for Women’s Employment. Consequently, the number of economically active women aged 15 or older expanded from 10.3 million (49.4 per cent) in 2010 to 11.2 million (51.3 per cent) in 2014. During the same period, the employment rate for women increased from 47.8 per cent to 49.5 per cent, with an even greater expansion among women in their 30s from 53.7 per cent to 56.3 per cent. This result shows that more women are actively pursuing economic activities, propelled by the Government’s vigorous efforts to expand women’s economic participation. Meanwhile, the proportion of female non-permanent workers decreased marginally from 27.1 per cent in 2010 to 27 per cent in 2014 (Table 34), while the gender wage gap slightly narrowed from 39.6 in 2010 to 36.6 in 2013.

93. The promotion of women’s economic participation and support for work-family balance was given greater emphasis within women’s policies by the Korean Government during the reporting period. The Government has implemented a basic plan to promote women’s economic participation and the achievement of work-family balance. The Fourth Basic Plan for Women’s Policy (2013-2017) includes detailed sub-plans in the following areas: expansion of support for young women’s employment; enhancement of the capacities of working women and expansion of support for women with interrupted careers; expansion and support for the economic participation of older women; establishment of an infrastructure to support women’s employment; strengthening of job security and employment welfare among irregular female workers; expansion of affirmative action and monitoring to eradicate gender discrimination in employment; promotion of the entrepreneurial capacities of women in the agricultural and fishery industries and support for the independence of underprivileged women; and expansion of support for women’s business start-ups and female entrepreneurs. The Second Basic Plan for the Promotion of Economic Activities of Women with Interrupted Careers (2015-2019) is focused on the robust implementation of support policies tailored to the different stages of women’s lives and the substantiation of services. The Fourth Basic Plan for Equal Employment Opportunity and Work-Family Balance (2008-2012) laid out five core strategies for expanding women’s employment under the vision of the actualization of equal employment and work-family balance. Aiming to secure the effectiveness of support for women’s economic activities, these five strategies include: enhancing women’s capacities and expanding jobs for women; establishing a childcare support system focused on working women; striking a work-home balance; preventing gender discrimination in the workplace; and expanding the infrastructure for women’s employment based on a social consensus.

Life cycle-based support policies for working women

94. Under the goal of “A happy balance between work and family,” the Government provides support for work-family balance among working women based on the course of their life. Available offerings include: 90 days of maternity leave which can be used both before and after birth; miscarriage or stillbirth leave; 3-5 days of paternity leave for men with a newborn baby (paid for the first three days); Goun Mom pregnancy/childbirth subsidy card to promote women’s right to choose medical services; medical subsidy for couples with fertility difficulties; home-visit helpers for mothers and newborn babies; childcare leave for workers with infants and toddlers; free medical check-ups for all children under the age of six; flexible working hours during the period of infant care; medical subsidies for premature babies and babies with birth defects; subsidies for educational and daycare costs for all children 3-5 years old, regardless of household income; childcare subsidies for the at-home-care of children, regardless of household income; and childcare support for the children of working parents under the age of 13.

95. Cooperation from employers is essential if women are to achieve a balance between work and childcare. The subsidy for substitute workers in conjunction with childcare support is based on the Employment Insurance Act and is intended to support employers who require the use of substitutes for employees taking childcare leave. The subsidy, the goal of which is to encourage childcare leave by easing the consequent burden on employers, is provided to employers who hire a substitute worker from up to 30 days before the start of pre-natal or post-natal leave, including miscarriage/stillbirth leave and childcare leave, for 30 consecutive days or longer and continue to employ the original employee for 30 consecutive days or longer after she returns to work from the leave.

96. In an effort to minimize the job insecurity faced by irregular female workers in the case of pregnancy and childbirth, the Government has expanded its coverage. Employers who contract female employees for a set term of over one year receive 400,000 won per month per female employee for up to six months up to 2.4 million won. Employers who sign an employment contract with no set term are supported for up to one year. The conditions have been further relaxed to extend the eligible period for rehiring to within 15 months after childbirth since January 2013 and to include employees on childcare leave — for those with children aged 15 months old or younger — since 2014. In 2013, a total of 885 million won was provided to 167 companies, and in 2014 1.25 billion won went out to 315 persons at 164 companies.

97. One of the most urgent needs that have emerged in efforts to prevent career disruption among women is the establishment of more workplace day-care facilities. In response, the Government devised its Measures to Promote Workplace Daycare Facilities in 2013 through inter-ministerial collaboration which include easing regulations on the establishment of workplace day-care facilities, subsidizing wages for day-care teachers, offering loans and subsidies for the construction of workplace day-care facilities, and expanding the subsidy for the operation of workplace day-care facilities at small to mid-sized companies. In 2012, the Government began subsidizing up to 90 per cent (1.5 billion won) of the establishment costs for communal workplace day-care facilities in industrial complexes. The number of daycares that benefited from this subsidy has expanded continually, from two in 2012 to ten in 2013 and 20 in 2014. The subsidy for the establishment of workplace day-care facilities increased from the provision of 6.634 billion won for 61 facilities in 2010 to 23.776 billion won for 93 facilities in 2014 (Table 35).

98. The Government provides childcare professionals to assist working couples with children aged between 3 months and 12 years. The programme consists of hourly service for children between the ages of two and 13 and full-day service for babies aged 24 months old or younger. An institutional support service and a special support service for children with infectious diseases are also available. This latter programme, in which caregivers are sent to homes, maximizes the sense of security and convenience for both working parents and their children and can be highly customized to the unique needs of service users. The number of users of this programme has increased constantly, from 44,000 in 2012 to 51,000in 2013, and to 54,000 in 2014, a trend which is expected to continue.

Enhanced support for the employment of women with interrupted careers

99. Women’s career interruption is one of the major causes for the gender wage gap. Since the establishment of the Act on the Promotion of Economic Activities of Career-interrupted Women in 2008 as a means to assist the employment of women who discontinued their careers due to childbirth and/or childcare, the Government launched support centres for women with interrupted careers, Women’s Reemployment Centres (Saeil Centres), to provide comprehensive employment support services including employment counselling, vocational training, information on job openings, and follow-up management after employment. Seventy-seven Saeil Centres were designated in 2009, and the total had risen to 140 by 2014. The Government also initiated regional Saeil Support Headquarters in 2010 in an effort to provide employment services to women in areas lacking a local Saeil Centre. There are nine such headquarters across the nation as of 2014. Furthermore, in areas with no Saeil Centre, employment consultants are dispatched to organizations providing women’s employment support services at Women’s Centres. Online employment consultation service is also available at www.dream.go.kr.

100. In 2014, the types of Saeil centres were divided into career development for well-educated jobseekers with a specialized education, independence support for vulnerable groups, and rural services, and ten centres were accordingly operated on a pilot basis in order to improve the customization of services to the specialties and careers of women who had experienced career interruptions. Meanwhile, a total of 636 training courses have been offered tailored to the specific fields and abilities of jobseekers and in consideration of the demand for vocational training, the particular needs of companies, and job prospects among women. The employment rate of the participants in vocational training programmes at Saeil Centres increased from 54 per cent in 2009 to 61 per cent in the first half of 2014. Internship opportunities are available to job seekers so that they can better adapt to the workplace environment following employment. Companies are provided with subsidies as an incentive to offering internships. This internship support appears to have been effective, as indicated by the employment rate of Saeil interns in 2014 reaching

93 per cent (Table 36).

Promoting childcare leave and male participation in childcare

101. Support for work-family balance has been greatly expanded during the eight reporting period, with one of the most prominent areas being childcare leave. First, the age of children eligible for parental childcare leave has gradually increased from under three years old in 2006 to under seven years old in 2010, and then to under nine years old or below third grade in 2014. The maximum allowed length of leave is one year. The childcare leave benefit was shifted from a flat 500,000 won per month in 2007 to 40 per cent of the regular pre-leave wage in 2011, with an upper limit of one million won and lower limit of 500,000 won. The number of those who use childcare leave has shown constant growth from 21,185 in 2007 to 58,134 in 2011, 69,616 in 2013, and 76,833 in 2014 (Table 37). The total amount of childcare leave benefit paid out was 61 billion won in 2007, 276.2 billion won in 2011, 420.3 billion won in 2013, and 500.7 billion won in 2014.

102. Thanks to the expanded childcare leave scheme, the number of male workers taking childcare leave has been increasing every year: from 310 in 2007 to 502 in 2009, 1,402 in 2011, 2,293 in 2013, and 3,421 in 2014 (Table 38). Accordingly, the total amount of childcare leave benefits provided rose from 740 million won in 2007 to 5.8 billion won in 2011, 11.7 billion won in 2013, and 17.9 billion won in 2014.

103. In October 2014, Father’s Month was introduced as part of the efforts to encourage the use of childcare leave among men. If two parents use childcare leave consecutively one after another, the benefit for the first month of the leave of the parent who uses the latter leave is raised to 100 per cent of the ordinary wage, up to 1.5 million won. Since this benefit is only offered when both parents take childcare leave, it serves as a strong incentive to men. In compliance with the revised State Public Officials Act and Local Public Officials Act, from 2015 male public officials can take childcare leave for up to three years as can their female counterparts.

104. Since 2011, the Ministry of Health and Welfare has been conducting a campaign to encourage male participation in childcare and reduce the burden on women. Along with television ads, various programmes have been launched in partnership with the private sector to foster commitment and support among the fathers themselves, the colleagues of working fathers, their employers, and society as a whole.

Strengthened support for employment of female marriage migrants and disabled women

105. In order to assist international marriage migrant women as they settle in their communities, the Government has introduced a diverse range of programmes through Multicultural Family Support Centres designed to aid them in creating social support networks. Services to promote their economic activities include education on Korean workplace culture, information on vocational training, job referrals, and job creation. In 2014, a total of 1,460 training and referral programmes were offered to encourage the employment of international marriage migrant women. The number of participants in such programmes was 13,858. Through the Saeil Centres, 47 vocational training courses — as of 2015, courses include medical tourism coordinator and training programmes for tour guides — customized to the qualifications of migrants and the needs of business are offered. Internship programmes for marriage migrants are also in place to assist with employment and adjustment to their new work; 644 women participated in internships in 2014. Additionally, women marriage migrants are given priority during the selection process for vocational training and reemployment applicants at the Saeil Centres and, in partnership with related ministries including the Ministry of Employment and Labour, employment support officers for international marriage migrant women have been installed at employment support centres in communities with concentrations of such women in order to better respond to their employment needs; 31 centres are in operation as of 2015.

106. As of 2011, the rate of economic participation among disabled women is

23.9 per cent, half that of their male counterparts (49.19 per cent). The proportion of employed disabled women relative to the total population of disabled women is 22.72 per cent, again about half that of disabled men. Programmes for disabled women are based on Article 22 of the Framework Act on Women’s Development, Article 6 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and Article 9 of the Act on Welfare of Persons with Disabilities. The focus of programmes in 2007 was on enhancing the capacities of disabled women through the promotion of emotional stability, social skills, and maternity protection.

107. Along with these capacity-building efforts, additional programmes were implemented in 2009, including counselling support, specialized training for the educational, social, and economic empowerment of disabled women, and a pilot counselling programme for the social engagement of disabled women. Vocational training, job referral, and follow-up management are also offered in partnership with community organizations. The numbers of disabled women who took advantage of counselling and capacity-building training through the Ehulim Centres for Disabled Women were 42,535 in 2010, 52,169 in 2011, 62,235 in 2012, 65,767 in 2013, and 72,036 in 2014. Demand-based training programmes and support services for women with disabilities will continue to be expanded as a means to increase opportunities for social engagement.

Efforts to expand work-family balance

108. The Government has engaged in multi-faceted efforts to create a social environment conducive to work-life balance. It has been undertaking a revision of the Labour Standards Act in order to address the current norm of extended working hours. The Government also encourages participation from the private sector by providing incentives to family-friendly companies. Flexible and part-time work arrangements are expanded as alternatives to the labour market practice of long working hours and the orientation toward full-time workers. Policies to promote work-family balance are also constantly expanded with a focus on the prevention of career disruption among working mothers.

109. In particular, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family launched the Work-Life Balance Support Bureau in March 2015 to provide assertive support to the Government’s 24 major innovation projects. With the participation of relevant divisions in charge of policy for women, families, and work-life balance, the bureau is extending multidimensional efforts intended to develop a cooperative system for the effective allocation of roles between divisions and to allow a more family-friendly culture to take root among both employers and families. By holding regular meetings, relevant ministries — the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, Ministry of Employment and Labour, Ministry of Health and Welfare — are preparing joint action plans and promotional strategies, implementing joint promotional activities, and collaborating with the private sector to offer Family Day discounts and participate in awareness campaigns.

110. In cooperation with the World Economic Forum (WEF), the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family demonstrated its commitment to work-family balance and the expansion of women’s employment by launching the Taskforce on Gender Parity and Empowerment of Women in June 2014, spanning approximately 120 organizations from both the private and public sectors.

Increasing the number of businesses certified as family-friendly

111. The Best Family-Friendly Management Certification Programme, initiated in 2008, is designed to grant certification to companies establishing best practices for a more family-friendly working environment: flextime, support for childcare and child education, and support for workers, etc. The certification is provided by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family based on its appraisal of companies and public organizations that apply for such certification. The number of certified companies has increased constantly from nine in 2008 to 14 in 2009 to 444 in 2014 (Table 39). As of December 2014, the total number of certified organizations/companies totals 956, with 223 big companies, 428 small to mid-sized companies, and 305 public organizations. The Ministry also began offering consultation services in 2013 for companies that intend to introduce such a scheme and also maintains a loan programme for companies that seek to create a more women-friendly work environment.

112. The Government is continuing its efforts to improve its life course based work-family balance support services through field monitoring designed to ensure proper implementation. In 2014, four major policy areas were identified: maternity protection, work-family balance, childcare support, and women’s return to the labour market/work environment. Sixteen local autonomous bodies across the country conducted monitoring of these areas and improved their services by adopting suggestions from the field, which included an expansion of the automatic transition from maternity leave to childcare leave without additional prior applications, earlier deployment of substitute workers and inclusion of information on maternity protection and work-family balance in the school curricula. In 2014, mobile applications were developed to expand public access to information on government policies on work-family balance by life stage and by beneficiary.

Expansion of flexible working arrangements: improved choices of work hours and places

113. The scheme for reduced working hours during the intensive childcare period, introduced in 2008 based on the Equal Employment Opportunity and Work-Family Balance Assistance Act, is significant in that it has expanded the options available for workers with infants/toddlers. Through this system, workers are able to choose a reduction of their weekly working hours by 15 to 30 hours in place of taking childcare leave. With the introduction of the right to file for reduced working hours during the childcare period in 2012, if a worker applies for reduced working hours instead of childcare leave it must be granted unless a compelling reason can be demonstrated.

114. The Korean Government is implementing polices to promote jobs that allow the selection of suitable working hours as a new employment paradigm. Characterized by shorter working hours, secure basic working conditions that meet the needs of workers, and a lack of discrimination, these jobs are expected to be beneficial both to job seekers and workers who are unavailable to work full-time due to diverse reasons such as childcare, preparation for retirement, and education, and to employers seeking to establish an efficient human resource management system that responds to peak periods of demand. The Government is providing labour cost subsidies and consultation services to companies allowing the selection of working hours together with awareness campaigns to thwart negative perceptions toward the system.

115. The Government has established Smartwork Centres and is working toward institutional improvements to promote their use. Smartwork Centres are remote working offices that enable employees to work in a location closer to their homes rather than commuting to their primary workplace. Two Smartwork Centres for the public sector opened in 2010 and the number increased to 16 in 2014. This is expected to contribute to transforming the practice of long working hours and help prevent career disruption among working women with childcare duties.

Strengthened monitoring of discriminatory employment practices and corrective measures

116. As part of the policies to promote one of the Government’s core strategies of ensuring gender-discrimination free workplaces, gender-based discrimination has been banned and regular monitoring, corrective measures, and supervision have all been strengthened. Organizations and companies that violate this ban are now subject to a fine of 5 to 30 million won or criminal punishment. Labour inspectors at regional Offices of Employment and Labour conduct prevention and inspection activities to ensure compliance with regulations on gender discrimination. The main focus of inspection has been on retail businesses, hospitals, and manufacturing companies, all of which traditionally hire a large number of female workers. Inspection and supervision has been heightened for companies demonstrating poor working conditions, high turnover rates among female workers, and/or low usage of maternity protection systems. The number of identified violations to which corrective measures were applied was 4,418 in 2011, 6,521 in 2012, 4,729 in 2013, and 2,053 in 2014 (Table 40).

117. The Equal Employment Opportunity and Work-Family Balance Assistance Act prescribes equal pay for work of equal value. Through inspection and deliberation, the Government can impose up to ten million won in fines on companies practicing wage discrimination, and up to five million won on those discriminating in terms of fringe benefits. Furthermore, constant monitoring is in place for discriminatory recruitment and hiring practices, such as applying a different wage system by gender.

Article 12

Expanded health care for women in early pregnancy

118. Previously, the law failed to provide sufficient maternity protection to women in the early stages of pregnancy, allowing maternity leave only in the case of miscarriage or stillbirth after 16 weeks. However, 70-80 per cent of natural miscarriages are known to occur within the first 16 weeks of pregnancy, underlining the importance of emotional and physical protection for women who experience miscarriage/stillbirth in these early stages of pregnancy. Based on the revision of the Labour Standards Act in February in 2012, maternity leave is now offered to women experiencing miscarriage or stillbirth prior to the sixteenth week of pregnancy as well (Clause 3 of Article 43 of the Enforcement Decree of the Labour Standards Act).

Subsidy for medical costs related to pregnancy and childbirth

119. An electronic voucher programme for pregnancy was introduced on 15 December 2008, with an aim to reduce the burden of pregnancy/birth-related medical costs and to protect the health of mothers and foetuses. In January 2012, a new voucher programme was introduced providing up to 1.2 million won in pregnancy and birth support to pregnant teenagers under the age of 19, many of whom may be likely to experience insufficient pregnancy care. In May 2015, the Goun Mom Card and Mam-pyeon-han Card were combined into a single card (Gukmin-haengbok Card) to improve user convenience. Since March 2013, the cards can be used in oriental medicinal clinics as well.

Home-visit helpers for mothers and newborns

120. Based on the Framework Act on Low Birth Rate in an Ageing Society, home-visit helper service was introduced in 2006 to improve the care available to mothers and newborns. Since July 2008, it has benefited those with household income of 50 per cent or less of the average monthly household income. In order to improve the quality of service, moreover, medical check-ups for infectious diseases among helpers were mandated in 2012 and the required items for inclusion in the check-ups were stipulated.

Expansion of public obstetrics/gynaecology clinics in areas that lack supporting resources

121. The reduction in the supportive infrastructure for birthing in the wake of the country’s falling birth rate has been resulting in significant losses of time and money, not to mention increased health risks, among pregnant women in areas lacking obstetrics/gynaecology clinics with birthing stations, since they are required to travel to larger cities to give birth. As a response, in 2011 the Government began installing and providing facilities, equipment, and operational subsidies to obstetrics/gynaecology clinics in 52 vulnerable areas. The number of such clinics has been gradually increasing, from three in 2011 to 7 in 2012, 11 in 2013, and 25 in 2014.

Surveying the status of women’s health

122. The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey is a statutory survey conducted in compliance with Article 16 of the National Health Promotion Act. Its primary goal is to produce the statistical data required for determining and evaluating the country’s health policies, including the national Health Plans. The fifth survey (2010-2012) evolved noticeably in terms of the women’s health section. First, questions related to women’s health were transferred from the interview-based nutrition survey to the self-administered health survey due to the private nature of such information: menstruation, contraception, hormone treatments, birthing experience, etc. Second, questions about the causes of amenorrhea, regularity of menstruation, experience and number of abortions, methods and number of births, history of surgeries for women’s diseases, and experience and period of breastfeeding were further included in order to identify factors related to women’s health and diseases and to produce indices for the maternal health field.

Promotion of women’s reproductive health

123. Since a medical subsidy for couples with fertility difficulties was introduced in 2006 to help address the country’s low birth rate, multiple pregnancies have emerged as one of the major complications of in vitro fertilization. Guidelines for reducing the number of transferred embryos have been actively implemented since mid-2008, and the rate of multiple implantations, especially the rate of the implantation of triplets or more, which is closely related to complications, has declined as a result. The 2010 Analysis and Evaluation of the Results of National Support Programme for Infertile Couples (Ministry of Health and Welfare and Seoul National University, 2011) suggested that such improvements can be partly attributed to the implementation of proper guidelines for refining the quality of surgical procedures. In June 2013, the Ministry of Health and Welfare conducted research designed to establish measures to improve the support programme for infertile couples, including an ethical review of the number of transferred embryos in in vitro fertilization and the clarification of diagnosis standards.

Prevention of the spread of HIV/AIDS

124. The number of individuals reporting HIV/AIDS has increased annually. As of 2013, the number of HIV/AIDS patients stands at 8,662, comprising of 7,978 men (92.1 per cent) and 684 women (7.9 per cent) (Table 42). The Prevention of Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome Act introduced an anonymous examination programme in March 2008 in order to minimize the chance of infected individuals spreading the disease while unaware that they are infected and to address the avoidance of examination out of the fear of the exposure of personal identity. In addition, two examination and counselling centres have been established targeting homosexuals and non-Koreans with an aim to increase access to examinations. The number of cases of examinations and counselling has experienced constant growth (Table 43).

Efforts to promote women’s mental health and prevent depression and suicide

125. According to the 2011 Epidemiological Survey of Mental Disorders conducted by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, only 15.3 per cent of those with a history of mental illness have discussed the problem with psychiatrist, doctor other than a psychiatrist, and/or other mental health professional or received related treatment. Based on this finding, the Ministry has reworked the relevant systems to allow any history of treatment for a mental illness to go unrecorded in medical insurance claims, regardless of the number of outpatient visits to mental health clinics that do not involve the prescription of medicine. This change, which took effect in April 2013, is intended to promote early detection and effective treatment of mental illnesses. As to outpatient consultations that do not involve the prescription of medicine, psychiatrists are allowed make insurance claims under the general health consultation section instead of the mental illness section. According to the 2013 statistics from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service, 68.8 per cent of those suffering depression are women (406,965 of 591,148 persons) and the gap between men and women has remained constant since 2009 (Table 44). In this regard, such measures are expected to contribute to women’s mental health by increasing access to medical services before problems exacerbate. Furthermore, the Act for the Prevention of Suicide and the Creation of a Culture of Respect for Life was established on 31 March 2012, in order to reinforce the infrastructure for suicide prevention by establishing the Korea Suicide Prevention Centre, expanding Mental Health Centres, etc.

Expansion of the beneficiaries of long-term care service for aged women

126. As it can be assumed that the demand for long-term care services for seniors who are unable to independently carry out activities of daily living due to old age, dementia, stroke, and other causes will continue to swell with the rapidly ageing population, the Ministry of Health and Welfare has revised the Enforcement Decree of the Act on Long-term Care Insurance for the Aged in July 2012. With this change, an additional 39,000 seniors became eligible for long-term care service, and 16,000 more seniors received the service in July 2013. Given that 70 per cent of the beneficiaries are women, this institutional improvement is expected to contribute significantly to the health and wellbeing of elderly women (Table 45). Senior care and emergency safety helper service are also available for seniors living alone who are in great need of protection due to a lack of supportive social networks.

Article 13

Expansion of welfare for single-parent households

127. The revision of the Single-parent Support Act converted the provision on welfare benefits for single-parent families from an optional regulation to an enforced one. Accordingly, welfare benefits for single-parent families became mandatory from 2012. While families with a child older than the age limit — 18 years old or 22 years in the case of a student — for benefits were excluded from support in the past, other members of the family are now subject to protection. If the son of a single-parent family returns to school after his mandatory military service, the age limit for protection, 18 years old or 22 years in the case of a student, is extended to include the duration of military service. Furthermore, a legal basis has been established for a welfare benefit account shielded from sequestration and for a matching account for adolescent single parents to support their independence. The student children of single parents covered by the Single-parent Support Act are entitled to high school tuition, school lunch programme fees, free after-school programme vouchers, and other educational costs. Childcare subsidies have also been provided to single parents with children younger than 13 years of age, and were raised from 50,ooo won monthly in 2012 to 70,000 in 2013 and again to 100,000 in 2015 (Table 46).

Legal aid service to guarantee the collection of child support for single-parent families

128. The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family has provided legal aid service for the delivery of child support since 2007 with an aim to protect the rights to care of the children of single parents, reduce the childcare burden of single-parent households, and support their livelihoods. The service, which was commissioned to legal aid agencies from 2007 to March 2015, was provided to families of divorced or separated parents, unmarried single mothers or fathers, and grandparents, regardless of their level of income or assets. However, a survey of single-parent families in 2012 revealed that 83 per cent of single parents did not receive any form of child support from their separated/divorced partners and 77.4 per cent were not in actuality paid even after winning a lawsuit for entitlement to child support (Table 47).

129. In order to address this issue, the Child Support Enforcement Act was established on 24 March 2014. In accordance with the law, the Child Support Agency was founded on 25 March 2015, to enforce the delivery of child support. Following a single application, the agency provides comprehensive services ranging from consultation on child support, mediation in child support negotiations, and collection of child support until the pertinent child reaches adulthood. The agency has been provided with administrative and punitive measures to enforce the delivery of child support, such as discovery of addresses of place of residence/workplace and the provision of information to credit-rating agencies.

Support for the independence of adolescent single parents

130. Since 2010, the Government has provided 150,000 won monthly to households in which either the mother or father is 24 years of age or younger and in which the reported income is under 150 per cent of the minimum cost of living. To improve the childcare environment for adolescent single parents and assist with their continued education, an academic subsidy for the national qualification exam for high school education is provided within the limit of 1.54 million won and a 100,000 won monthly independence support benefit is provided when a young parent is engaged in schooling, vocational training, or employment. There are 58 shelters for unmarried single mothers and children that provide housing support, birthing support, medical support, and childcare support for a limited period. As for those living in their own homes, there are 17 designated support centres across the nation. The number of households that made use of these services totalled 9,423 in 2012, 10,280 in 2013, and 10,721 in 2014.

Relaxing requirements for full-time housewives on voluntary entry into National Pension System

131. The income threshold for those eligible for voluntary entry into the National Pension System, such as full-time housewives and students, was lowered in 2010 from 1.4 million won, which is the median income of the total subscriber population, to 990,000 won, the median income of the self-employed and other subscriber groups. Accordingly, the lowest payment for voluntary subscribers was reduced from a monthly 126,000 won to 89,000 won, increasing its accessibility among full-time housewives and students (Table 48).

Provision of health and social services for low-income elderly women

132. Comprehensive senior care service including housekeeping, physical mobility support, and day-time care has been provided to seniors ineligible for long-term care service with an aim to ensure the provision of health and social services to lowincome female seniors: 3.6 million beneficiaries in 2014. Short-term housekeeping service was added to basic senior care services in 2014 in order to make short-term housekeeping and activity support available for seniors living alone who experience temporary difficulties with physical mobility due to reasons such as fractures or surgeries and who do not have any familial care resources. Meanwhile, to enhance the retirement planning capacity of elderly women, a retirement plan programme specifically for elderly women was developed and distributed to raise awareness regarding the need for appropriate planning and training for retirement.

Status of female beneficiaries of the National Basic Livelihood Support

133. The proportion of female general beneficiaries of the National Basic Livelihood Support stands at 56.5 per cent (711,258 persons) of the total beneficiary population as of 2013: 135,688 under the age of 20; 43,587 in their 20s; 36,521 in their 30s; 103,607 in their 40s; 90,864 in their 50s; 85,163 in their 60s; 133,932 in their 70s; and 81,896 in their 80s or older (Table 49).

Article 14

Changes in policies for women in agricultural and fishery industries

134. With a vision of fostering female farmers imbued with creativity, expertise, and leadership, the third five-year plan to cultivate female farmers and fishers (2011-2015) placed its focus on providing customized support according to stage of life and improved quality of life for women in the agricultural and fishery industries. Basic strategies include promoting the occupational status and rights of female farmers/fishers, building their capacity for professional agricultural management, cultivating leaders in community development and emerging generations, improving the quality of life of female farmers/fishers, and strengthening the related policy infrastructure.

Supporting the national pension payment for women in agricultural and fishery industries

135. The implementation guidelines for the pension payment support programme for farmers and fishers were revised in 2012 to expand its coverage to household members of the owners of agricultural/fishery business (female farmers and fishers). This change, which took effect in 2013, has in effect elevated the occupational status of female farmers/fishers as co-owners of agricultural/fishery business and enabled both husbands and wives who jointly operate farms or fisheries to be the beneficiaries of pension payment support. In 2014, a total of 146,279 persons received support, a 15 per cent increase from 2013 (126,862 persons).

Operation of Saeil Centres for rural women

136. Saeil centres for rural women began to be designated in 2014 and were further expanded in 2015 with an aim to support female job seekers in rural areas through customized services for employment and business initiation. Two pilot centres opened in 2014, and in 2015 a total of five Saeil Centres for rural women will be in operation, two of which will be newly open, and one of the existing Saeil Centre in Chungcheong area will be converted into a centre for rural women.

Building the capacities of women in agricultural and fishery industries

137. As a measure to increase women’s participation in agricultural and fishery management, a 20 per cent female quota is being applied when selecting beneficiaries for the agricultural/fishery emerging generation cultivation project. As a result, women accounted for 326 of 1,849 future farmers (17.6 per cent) and 169 of 1,000 future fishers (16.9 per cent) in 2014. There is continued support for pension payments for female farmers who are not the owners of agricultural business and more women are participating in producers’ cooperatives. The proportions of women holding rank-and-file and executive positions in agricultural cooperatives grew to 29.7 per cent and 3.6 per cent, respectively, in 2014. The figures are 31.0 per cent and 2.2 per cent in the case of women in fishery cooperatives. In order to expand this further, the Fisheries Cooperatives Act has been revised to mandate that regional cooperatives designate at least one female director if the proportion of female members reaches 30 per cent or more of total members. The Agricultural Cooperatives Act is in the process of a revision to follow suit.

138. Efforts have also been made to raise the participation of women in the management training for farmers and fishers to 40 per cent. Women’s participation in public decision-making positions such as on committees related to agricultural policies has continued to rise, reaching 33.7 per cent for the central government and 32.1 per cent for local governments as of 2013. Under the goal of achieving 40 per cent, committees with less than 20 per cent female members are subject to intensive supervision.

PART IV

Article 15

139. Not applicable.

Article 16

Abolition of the crime of adultery based on the Constitutional Court ruling of its unconstitutionality

140. On 26 February 2015, the Constitutional Court ruled that Article 241 of the Criminal Code, which stipulates imprisonment for up to two years for those who commit adultery, is unconstitutional on the grounds that it restricts the confidentiality and freedom of privacy guaranteed by the Constitution by intervening in sexual self-determination and the private realms of an individual’s sex life.