Permanent Mission of the Republic of Korea to the United Nations

by H.E. Dr. Yoon Hoo-Jung, Chairperson of the Presidential Commission Women's Affairs
at the 19th Session of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women

Introduction

Madame Chair,

On behalf of the Korean delegation, I like to express my sincere appreciation to the Secretary-General and distinguished members of this committee. Indeed, the concerted efforts of the committee have contributed to the advancement of gender-equality throughout the global community.

The ROK and CEDAW

Madame Chair,

I am very pleased to present the Republic of Korea's third and fourth reports on the implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. The reports cover the period of 1990 through 1997.

The Republic of Korea ratified the CEDAW in December 1984, and submitted its first report on the implementation of the Convention in 1986. Among our subsequent reports, we attach particular significance to the fourth one in the sense that a consultative body was formed, comprising representatives from 25 NGOs and 7 women's policy specialists to embrace more diverse opinions and expertise. The NGO participants include one representative from Korea Women's Association United which submitted a shadow report to this Committee. The fourth report also documents policy actions and other measures taken by my Government to promote the status of women and gender-equality in the context of the various Articles of the Convention.

On that note, I now wish to take a moment to touch on the review process of the Committee. My delegation firmly believes that there is an urgent need for member countries to expedite the ratification of the amendment to Article 20 of the Convention. The Republic of Korea ratified this amendment in August 1996. My delegation believes that this amendment would serve to reduce the backlog of reports awaiting the Committee's consideration.

The impact of the UN in the lives of Korean women has been significant. There has been a series of efforts on the part of the Korean Government to provide institutional protection for women's rights. In 1980, the Korean constitution was amended to include a clause that specifically stipulated the support for gender equality in marriage and family life. As an expert in constitutional law, I am very proud that my proposal has made a significant contribution to this amendment process.

In 1987, the principle of gender equality was further developed in the constitution. This principle finds explicit and concrete elaboration in the constitution's various articles, with a profound impact on the lives of Korean citizens. Also, in order to facilitate women's social activities and development of women, the Equal Employment Opportunity Act and the Mother-Child Welfare Act were enacted in 1987 and in 1991 respectively.

Furthermore, the Family Law was amended in 1990 and the Punishment of Sexual Violence and Protection of Victim Act was legislated in 1993. The 1995 passage of the Women's Development Act was phenomenal in that it aimed at addressing issues of gender equality, women's social participation and their welfare in a consistent and systematic manner.

In tandem with these, the nationality act was amended and the Prevention of Domestic Violence and Protection of the Victim Act was enacted in 1997.

Since its ratification by my Government, the Convention has brought about enormous changes in the lives of Korean women. The feedback from Committee members on our second report in 1993 provided substantial guidance in implementing women's policies in the Republic of Korea. Particularly salient were the Convention's contributions to the expansion of women's participation in decision-making processes and the elimination of gender-discriminatory laws related to the acquisition of citizenship.

The Korean Government has endeavored to familiarize the general public with the content and ramifications of the CEDAW. These efforts include a 1994 symposium observing thw 10th anniversary of the country's ratification of the Convention, and the publication in 1996 of annotations to the Convention.

Women's Policy Direction of the New Government

Since inauguration in February, the Republic of Korea's new Administration has made it a policy priority to promote women's rights as an integral part of human rights. This policy priority extends to the creation of a society where gender-equal participation and division of responsibilities in all political, social, economic and cultural spheres are guaranteed.

In his inaugural speech, President Kim Dae-jung emphasized that "The Government will demonstrate its commitment to the furtherance of those rights, which is a fitting and proper function of a government elected by and for the people. All the barriers of discrimination between men and women will be eliminated from every sector of the nation, whether in the family, the workplace, or the society as a whole ?"

In order to translate this pledge into a reality, the Government has prescribed a range of specific policies over the next 5 years aimed at further developing women's opportunities and preparing women to meet the changing socio-economic environment of the 21st century.

These efforts include, among others, the formulation and implementation of women's policies into the national policy agenda; an expanded women's presence and representation in every aspect of society to guarantee equal participation and division of responsibilities in national development; greater cooperation with non-governmental women's organizations to mobilize women's leadership in solving social problems; plans designed to enhance the quality of life and opportunities of women living in underdeveloped areas; and measures to increase women's participation in politics.

To facilitate the implementation of these policies, the Presidential Commission on Women's Affairs (PCWA) was established to replace the Ministry of Political Affairs (II) (MOPA II). Unlike MOPA (II), which operated under the auspices of the Office of the Prime Minister, the PCWA is overseen directly by the President.

The PCWA functions primarily as an advisory body to the President on issues related to women. The PCWA also serves to institutionalize the formulation and coordination of women's policies and initiates research on specific gender-discriminatory practices and their remedy. The Commission embraces the principle of democratic decision-making processes and subsequent actions are guided by the rule of consensus.

The PCWA is comprised of deputy ministers from six ministries as permanent members, and civilian experts as non-permanent members, with a view to ensuring a democratic decision-making process through genuine dialogue and cooperation between the government authorities concerned and civil society. The Korean Government's commitment to the advancement of women into senior-level government positions has been demonstrated by the appointment of three women to ministerial positions in the new Cabinet, and the recent nomination of a woman as ambassador to Russia. In tandem with these efforts, the Government plans to increase the ratio of women in governmental committees to 30 percent by the year 2002.

Also, the new government will implement women's policies in a systematic way with the Master Plan in Women's Policies which runs from this year through 2002. The comprehensive implementation of the Master Plan should serve to expedite increased participation by women throughout Korean society.

The current five-year plan includes 20 policy priorities and 147 specific programs. The PCWA is charged with monitoring the implementation of these programs by relevant government ministries and local self-governing bodies. The PCWA is further charged to report the result of its monitoring to the President.

With regard to the long-standing and contentious issue of sexual slavery imposed by the military forces of a former colonial power, Japan, my Government continues to provide monthly support grants to the Korean victims of these heinous crimes. In parallel with these efforts, funds amounting to 26,000 US dollars were allocated last May to each victim to help promote self-healing. Impact of the Beijing Platform for Action on Women's Policies in Korea

The impact of the Beijing Platform for Action on women's policies in Korea has been significant and has actively contributed to the further empowerment of women in all aspects of Korean society. I think it may be worth providing some additional background on my Government's recent efforts in the context of the Beijing Platform for Action.

As part of the follow-up to the outcome of the Beijing Conference, the Government identified Ten Policy Priorities for the Advancement of Women. The include, among others, the expansion of childcare facilities and a qualitative upgrade of childcare services, introduction of after-school child guidance system, standardization of lunch programs, and the establishment of a women's information network.

In 1995, the Women's Development Act was enacted to consolidate a legal basis for taking adequate institutional and financial measures in support of women's participation and gender-equality at all levels of society.

The Government also instituted in 1995 a female public employee target system which facilitates the recruitment of a prescribed number of women into the public sector each year. Target ratios are expected to rise to 20 percent by the year 2000 from the 10 percent base in 1996.

In November 1997, the Nationality Act was amended to remove provisions which were discriminatory towards women. As a direct result, one of Korea's two reservations on the Convention ?namely our reservation to the provisions of Article 9 ?will soon be withdrawn, while our reservation to Article 16 will remain. Article 16 concerns the selection of a child's surname. Until now, there has been no law or formal regulation governing this matter in Korea. By tradition, Korean couples retain their respective pre-nuptial family names according to the customary invariable surname principle.

In 1997, Korea enacted the Prevention of Domestic Violence and Protection of the Victim Act. This law holds state and local autonomous bodies responsible for creating the relevant legal and institutional mechanisms to prevent domestic violence and protect the victims of such violence. National and local autonomous bodies are also charged under the act with securing adequate resources to that end. The act also requires state and local autonomous bodies to establish and operate domestic violence and counseling centers, custodial care facilities operated under private auspices. This legislation will ensure appropriate government intervention in cases of domestic violence, an area which until now has been largely regarded beyond governmental jurisdiction.

Finally, various initiatives will be undertaken to enhance public awareness on gender-equality. These initiatives will be aimed at narrowing the gap between de jure and de facto gender-equality, and will include the celebration of Women's Week in July, the designation of October as a Month of Gender-Equality, in addition to the publication and distribution of Korean versions of both the CDAW and the Beijing Platform for Action.

Impact of the IMF Agreement on Korean Women

Madame Chair,

These days, Korean women face particularly difficult realities due to the country's economic crisis and the subsequent implementation of IMF-supported programs, which have placed an exceptional burden on the life style of the nation.

The government programs intended to enhance women's economic activities have thus emerged as viable solutions to prevent the impoverishment of women. Mechanisms to support and enhance women's participation in the economy, such as the Equal Employment Act of 1989 and the Infant and Childcare Act of 1991, are already in place. The Government will vigorously pursue further efforts to overcome the obstacles impeding women's participation in economic activities. Indeed, great effort is still required in this area, given the fact that the ratio of women among the economically active population still falls well short of men, standing at 49.5 percent versus 75.6 percent in 1997.

Childbearing and childcare commitments are some of the primary reasons for this shortfall among working women within the age group of 25-34 years. This phenomenon is further exacerbated by a lack of facilities to support the employment of women, such as workplace daycare and vocational training. The absence of these facilities has left far too large a portion of the women's workforce untapped.

The realization of gender-equality in recruitment, placement and promotion is far from complete. While laws and regulations designed to enforce equal employment are already in place, the accession of women into the workforce has not proceeded as rapidly as hoped. In fact only 0.7 percent of senior management positions among Korea's top 50 corporations were filled by women by 1997.

An additional threat to women's presence in the job market, in the form of job security, has emerged as the result of corporate restructuring. Many companies have tended to use the female workforce as a buffer against fluctuations in the business cycle, incurred by structural changes arising from Korea's agreement with the IMF. In an effort to curb this practice, the Government has issued ordinances providing serious penalties to companies which dismiss women before men without due cause.

In addition, a special channel was set up with the Ministry of Labor to receive reports on gender-discriminatory dismissals. The companies where the ratio of female employees dismissed accounts for an extraordinarily large proportion of those dismissed will be placed under special review to see any possible violation of the Equal Employment Act. The measures to protect female employees working under atypical employment contracts, such as part-time jobs and manpower leasing contracts, will be implemented, since the labor market restructuring will make these employment patterns more common.

Korea's economic crisis and the ensuing potential for massive unemployment and poverty will place extra strains on Korean families. Instances of domestic violence and divorce will likely increase. Also, low-income female-headed households will almost certainly succumb to aggravated poverty. In order to address these problems, our Government intends to step up its efforts to provide a safety net for these families and take action to prevent the breakdown of the family unit. By the same token, the Government will enforce measures designed to protect the human rights of women within families.

Despite the fact that women are now participating more fully in Korean society than ever before, the political arena is still essentially a gentlemen's club. The expansion of women's participation in politics is prerequisite both to the enhancement of women's social status an further democratic development of the society as a whole. Seen from this perspective, our Commission is providing any possible support to those women's organizations which work to broaden women's presence on the political area.

As I mentioned earlier, the impact the Beijing Women's Conference has had on the status of Korean women cannot be overstated. Although Korea's entrenched Confucian ideology still hinders the complete realization of gender-equality, it is simply a matter of time before the traditions of the past give way to the promise of a new era based on full gender equality, representative democracy, and shared prosperity.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Madame Chair,

Korea has endured much in its long history, and has certainly seen its share of turmoil. Yet we have consistently pulled together as a nation through the best and worst of times. A constant of this phenomenon has been that Korean women have most often worked behind the scenes, standing in the shadows.

Today, once again, I have every confidence that Korean women can and will respond positively to new challenges and opportunities as they have in the past. But this time with the benefit of equal protection under the law, women in Korea will emerge as contributing partners in the process of nation-building. Through their own determination and with the sustained support from my Government, relevant NGOs, and society as a whole, Korean women can indeed write their own unique chapter in the global gender-equality Renaissance of the 21st century.

Thank you.