Permanent Mission of the Republic of Korea to the United Nations

at High Level Debate of the General Assembly 

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Madame President,

1. On behalf of the Government of the Republic of Korea, I would like to express our deep appreciation for your leadership in organizing this debate on “gender equality and the empowerment of women.” We believe that our gathering today sends a clear message to the international community that there exists a global commitment to enhancing the status of women across the board in all international endeavours.

Madame President,

2. Over the past six decades, since the creation of the United Nations, the Member States and this world body have made great strides toward gender equality and the empowerment of women. However, what we have achieved so far should not be a source of complacency. Everywhere in the world, words are yet to be followed by actions. Here in the United Nations, my delegation highly commends the Secretary-General’s initiative and his example by leadership, of balancing the gender ratio in the UN Secretariat, especially in high-ranking positions. We also strongly support the SG’s efforts to incorporate the gender dimension as an integral part of the current UN reform process.

3. The Republic of Korea is a strong supporter of the vision and goals of gender equality. Our government has worked vigorously to put in place the necessary machinery for the advancement of women and to effect policies and programs that can bring about real change.

4. In the public sector, our emphasis has been on the enhancement of women’s role in key decision-making processes. In recent years in Korea, there has been a significant increase in women in managerial level posts and in female representation in the National Assembly. For example, since the introduction of quotas in 2004, women have accounted for 52% of those elected to the National Assembly from the national lists for proportional representation. This has helped to raise the ratio of National Assembly women as a whole to 13% from 6% before this new system. Last year, we took another significant step with the appointment of the first female Prime Minister in our history, Her Excellency Han Myeong-sook.

5. In the economic sphere, to promote women’s activities and optimize female human resources, my government laid out the Comprehensive Human Resource Development (HRD) Plan for Women in July 2006. This plan primarily aims to enhance the status of women by creating more jobs for women, allowing family members to share the burden of childcare, and eliminating sex discrimination in employment.

6. Last but not least, Madame President, despite steady progress in women’s participation in political and social life, the gap between de jure and de facto equality still remains wide in most countries, including mine. The participation of women in decision-making processes involves not just the quantitative aspect of representation. It should lead to a substantive increase in women’s roles so that men and women can exercise equal influence over decision-making and resource allocations. Hence, greater efforts are required to address such persistent challenges as limited access to education, the lack of equal employment opportunities, as well as other structural and cultural barriers.

7. In this regard, my delegation believes that this debate will bear fruit by sharing national experiences and exploring strategies to effectively respond to such challenges. I would like to conclude by reiterating the commitment of the Republic of Korea to work with all Member States toward our common goal of achieving gender equality.

Thank you.