Republic of Korea
347. The Committee considered the third
and fourth periodic reports of the Republic
of Korea (CEDAW/C/KOR/3 and CEDAW/C/KOR/4)
at its 400th and 401st meetings, on
7 July 1998 (see CEDAW/C/SR. 400 and
401).
Introduction by the State party
348. The representative noted that the
fourth report had been produced by a
consultative body, comprising representatives
from 25 non-governmental organizations,
and by 7 women's policy specialists
and that the Republic of Korea had ratified
the amendment to article 20 of the Convention
in August 1996.
349. The representative stated that
ratification of the Convention had impacted
significantly on the lives of Korean
women. The comments of the Committee
members on the second report in 1993
had provided substantial guidance in
implementing women's policies, particularly
in respect to women's participation
in decision-making and the elimination
of gender-discriminatory laws relating
to citizenship.
350. The representative described several
major legal reforms, including the Equal
Employment Opportunity Act 1987, the
Mother-Child Welfare Act 1991, the 1993
Punishment of Sexual Violence and Protection
of the Victim Act, the 1995 Women's
Development Act and the 1997 Prevention
of Domestic Violence and Protection
of the Victim Act. Amendments to the
Nationality Act had been enacted in
1997 and the Republic of Korea's reservations
to article 9 would soon be withdrawn.
351. The representative described Government
efforts to make the Convention widely
known, including a 1994 symposium observing
the tenth anniversary of the country's
ratification of the Convention, and
the publication of annotations to the
Convention in 1996.
352. The representative noted that,
since February 1998, the Government
had made it a policy priority to promote
women's rights as an integral part of
human rights. It had established the
Presidential Commission on Women's Affairs
and had introduced the Master Plan in
Women's Policies (1998–2002),
which aimed to increase the participation
of women in all sectors of Korean society.
The Government also planned to increase
the ratio of women in Governmental committees
to 30 per cent by the year 2002.
353. The representative noted the significant
impact of the Fourth World Conference
on Women and that the Beijing Platform
for Action actively contributed to the
further empowerment of women. In follow-up
to the Conference, the Government had
identified ten policy priorities for
the advancement of women, including
the expansion of child-care facilities,
the upgrade of child-care services,
and the establishment of a women's information
network.
354. The representative emphasized that
increased participation by women in
politics was a prerequisite for the
enhancement of women's social status
and further democratic development of
the society. A female public employee
target system had been instituted in
1995 to facilitate the recruitment of
a prescribed number of women into the
public sector each year and ratios of
women employees were expected to rise
from 10 per cent in 1996 to 20 per cent
by the year 2000.
355. The representative noted the impact
of the economic crisis and its potential
adverse affects on Korean women, particularly
low-income female-headed households,
and indicated that the Government intended
to increase its efforts to provide a
safety net for these families and prevent
the breakdown of the family unit. It
also intended to strengthen its programmes
to enhance women's economic activities.
356. The representative indicated that
gender equality in recruitment, placement
and promotion had not been realized
and that, while laws and regulations
designed to achieve equal employment
were already in place, the entry of
women into the workforce had not proceeded
as rapidly as expected.
357. In concluding her presentation,
the representative stated that, although
Confucian ideology still hindered the
complete realization of gender equality,
it was a matter of time before the traditions
of the past would give way to full gender
equality, representative democracy and
shared prosperity. She expressed confidence
that, with the benefit of equal protection
under the law, Korean women would emerge
as contributing partners in the process
of nation-building and write their own
chapter in the global gender-equality
renaissance of the twenty-first century.
Concluding comments by the Committee
Introduction
358. The Committee welcomes the high-level
delegation of the Republic of Korea
and commends the Government for its
reports and particularly the well-structured
and comprehensive fourth periodic report,
which generally complied with the Committee's
guidelines, and provides a broad range
of information and data on the situation
of women in Korea and the political
will of the Government to advance the
status of women. The Committee appreciates
the exhaustive replies of the Government
to questions posed by experts which
amplified the written reports. The Committee
also appreciates the input of non-governmental
organizations to the preparation of
the reports.
Positive aspects
359. The Committee welcomes the definitive
steps taken by the Government towards
the advancement of women and the measures
taken to integrate a gender perspective
into policies and programmes.
360. The Committee welcomes the establishment
and strengthening of the proactive national
machinery for women, in particular,
the Presidential Commission on Women's
Affairs.
361. The Committee welcomes the Government's
close collaboration with non-governmental
organizations to combat domestic violence
through the introduction of protective
legislation, in addition to the creation
of sexual and domestic violence prevention
and victim protection centres, emergency
shelters and awareness-raising campaigns
to encourage the reporting of and official
response to domestic violence and other
forms of sexual harassment.
362. The Committee notes with satisfaction
that the Government's efforts to implement
the Beijing Platform for Action through
the preparation of a national plan for
the advancement of women and identification
of ten priorities in that respect. The
Committee commends the 1995 enactment
of the Women's Development Act and the
Women's Development Fund endowed with
US$ 70 million to support the implementation
of the Beijing Platform for Action and
the Women's Development Plan.
363. The Committee notes with appreciation
the adoption and revision of numerous
laws and legal provisions in order to
bring domestic legislation in line with
the Convention, in particular, the 1998
Prevention of Domestic Violence Act,
Protection of the Victim Act and the
1995 Law for the Advancement of Women,
which aims to address the issues of
gender equality in a comprehensive way.
The Committee welcomes the amendments
of the National Act in 1997 and the
news that the Government is considering
the withdrawal of its reservation to
article 9 of the Convention.
364. The Committee commends the Government
on a wide range of policies, strategies
and measures in social and economic
areas and underlines, in particular,
the achievements in the area of education,
including the introduction of non-traditional
career orientation for women.
365. The Committee commends the fact
that discrimination against women is
defined in a number of articles of the
constitution, as well as the Equal Opportunity
Act 1989. It also commends the fact
that maternity benefits for working
women and preferential benefits for
specific classes of workers for the
purpose of redressing discriminatory
conditions is not viewed as discriminatory.
Factors and difficulties affecting the
implementation of the Convention
366. The Committee notes the negative
impact of the economic crisis, and particularly
the policies and positions of the International
Monetary Fund, which are aggravating
the situation for Korean women.
367. The Committee notes the persistence
of entrenched paternalistic male values
and traditional stereotyping of women's
role. In spite of amendments to the
civil code, discriminatory provisions
remained, such as the prohibition of
marriages between individuals with common
surnames.
Principal areas of concern and recommendations
368. The Committee is concerned with
the reservations entered by the Government
of Korea to the Convention.
369. The Committee urges the Government
to review its reservations to the Convention
with a view to their withdrawal before
the year 2000.
370. The Committee is concerned that
the reports contain insufficient information
on the actual impact of laws and policies
on women's lives.
371. The Committee recommends that subsequent
reports provide detailed information
on the implementation and enforcement
of laws and policies. The Committee
also recommends that subsequent reports
include a comparative analysis of the
progress achieved since the previous
reports through, inter alia, statistical
data disaggregated by sex.
372. The Committee notes with concern
that, although the constitution contains
a definition of discrimination, the
definition does not include discrimination
with both the purpose or effect as specified
in article 1 of the Convention. The
Committee also notes that the Equal
Opportunity Act 1989 does not include
a full definition of discrimination,
which also includes discrimination on
the basis of religious beliefs, political
preferences, age or disability.
373. The Committee recommends the inclusion
in the constitution and all relevant
legislation of a definition of discrimination
which reflects that in article 1 of
the Convention. It also recommends that
the Government disseminate information,
ensure the provision of legal aid and
undertake all necessary measures to
increase legal literacy among women.
The Committee also recommends that the
establishment of the National Human
Rights Commission be expedited and the
provision of remedies for discriminatory
practices.
374. The Committee is concerned that
violence against women is still pervasive
in Korean society.
375. The Committee recommends that the
Government intensify its efforts to
combat violence against women through,
inter alia, the introduction of comprehensive
measures, including gender-sensitive
training of the judiciary, health personnel
and law enforcement officials. It also
recommends the provision of adequate
shelters and the incorporation of models
of non-violent forms of conflict resolution
in education and the media.
376. The Committee is concerned about
the under-representation of women in
politics and decision-making structures,
including the judicial system. It emphasizes
the importance of fostering a political
environment conducive to women's promotion
in all sectors of public and private
life.
377. The Committee recommends the provision
of more governmental support in order
to increase women's political participation
and political education, raise public
awareness about women leaders, continue
promoting targets and quotas, introduce
incentives to encourage a minimum quota
of 30 per cent representation of women
in political parties and the drafting
of policies to increase the participation
of women in the judicial system. It
also recommends that the Government
encourage the private sector to introduce
quotas for women, particularly in non-traditional
areas.
378. The Committee is concerned about
the situation of women in the labour
market and emphasizes the current Asian
economic crisis and its impact on the
situation of women. The Committee raises
the following concerns:
(a) Sexual harassment in the workplace;
(b) Insufficient social protection of
female workers in the private sector;
(c) Occupational segregation, including
concentration in traditional female
occupations;
(d) Lack of employment opportunities
for highly qualified women, as well
as the wage differential between women
and men;
(e) Insufficient support to women entrepreneurs,
particularly in non-traditional areas;
(f) Situation of women in agriculture,
especially of elderly women and in rural
areas;
(g) Early lay-off and an increase in
the number of part-time women workers.
379. The Committee recommends:
(a) Provision of statistical data on
the growing number of part-time workers
in social protection schemes;
(b) Implementation of the principle
of equal pay for work of equal value
and recognition of women's unpaid work;
(c) Provision of equal social protection
for women in both the public and private
sectors including extension of paid
maternity leave to the private sector
to bridge the gap between the working
conditions in these sectors;
(d) Ratification of International Labour
Organization conventions, especially
Conventions 110 and 111;
(e) Elimination of gender-restrictive
recruitment and advertisements;
(f) Awareness-raising campaigns and
training programmes to encourage the
reporting and elimination of sexual
harassment in the workplace.
380. The Committee expresses concern
at the situation of rural women, in
particular in regard to their under-representation
in decision-making/leading public and
private positions.
381. The Committee encourages the Government
to give full attention to the needs
of rural women and to ensure that policies
and programmes benefit them in all areas,
including in regard to their recognition
as agricultural workers, so as to benefit
from the rights under the Employment
Standard Act, and access to decision-making,
health and social services. The Committee
also recommends more studies on the
situation of rural women, and the collection
of statistical data to inform policies
in this area. The Committee also recommends
that the Government facilitate access
to credit for rural women.
382. The Committee's further concerns
include:
(a) The status and role of the national
machinery, including the Commission
on Women's Affairs, its authority and
budget;
(b) The differential minimum age of
marriage of women and men;
(c) The high rate of abortion;
(d) The discriminatory impact of existing
inheritance laws;
(e) The provision of inadequate information
on the numbers of women using health
facilities, especially those with HIV/AIDS
and sexually transmitted diseases, in
the report.
383. The Committee recommends that the
Government of Korea provide further
information in its next periodic report
describing measures taken to address
these concerns.
384. The Committee recommends that the
Government give special attention to
the realization of the right to social
security provided by the 1955 Unemployment
Insurance Scheme to disabled women,
and that the policy to provide a variety
of programmes for older women, including
the promotion of their health, not be
jeopardized by the present economic
crisis.
385. The Committee recommends that that
special attention be given by the Government,
and if necessary special measures be
introduced, to prevent adverse consequences
for women as a result of the present
economic crisis.
386. The Committee requests the wide
dissemination in the Republic of Korea
of the present concluding comments in
order to make the Korean people, and
particularly the Government, administrators
and politicians, aware of the steps
that have been taken to ensure de facto
equality for women and the further steps
required in that regard. The Committee
also requests the Government to continue
to disseminate widely, and in particular
to women's and human rights organizations,
the Convention, the Committee's general
recommendations and the Beijing Declaration
and the Platform for Action.
