외교부

Statement by H.E. Ambassador SHIN Dong-ik
Deputy Permanent Representative of the Republic of Korea
On the agenda item 27(Social Development) of the 66th Session of the General Assembly 

October 4, 2011
New York


Mr. Chairman,

At the outset, my delegation would like to congratulate you, H.E. Mr. Hussein Hannif, on the assumption of the chairmanship of the Third Committee. I assure you of my delegation’s full support and cooperation, while you and members of your bureau pilot this Committee to a fruitful and meaningful end.

I would also like to express my appreciation for the insightful and comprehensive reports of the Secretary-General, submitted under this agenda on social development. The report on the global social crisis, in particular, gives us a clear message that we cannot be complacent with the economic recovery.

Given that the recent global economic crisis has had wide-ranging negative social outcomes and that increased levels of poverty, hunger, and unemployment will continue to affect billions for years to come, we now need to pay more attention than ever to the global “social” crisis.

In this regard, my delegation would like to emphasize three areas that, in our belief, would be vital in addressing the global social crisis with a view towards moving forward to achieve the goals of the 1995 World Summit for Social Development.

First, we need to redouble our efforts to eradicate extreme poverty around the world. We had a chance to go deeper into the issue of “poverty eradication” at the 49th Session of the Commission for Social Development early this year. At the Session, we identified the worrying signs that people living in poverty experience multiple depravations, restrictions in opportunities, and social exclusion.

In this regard, my Government cannot agree more on the Secretary-General’s focus, in his report A/66/226, on employment growth as a chief means for governments to target poverty eradication. In the case of Korea, we are planning to expand the target group for intensive support in their efforts to escape from poverty from the current 42 thousand to 190 thousand by 2012. These individuals will be given not just employment opportunities, but also training programs to help them create their own businesses.

Second, I would like to emphasize the role of social protection to address the social crisis. Indeed, social protection schemes have proved to be of utmost significance not only in mitigating the shocks of vulnerable groups, but also in maintaining sustainable and inclusive economic growth amid the recent economic crisis.

In Korea, there has been a sustained increase in the welfare budget. The Korean Government has increased this year’s budget for welfare services by 4.7 billion US dollars. This represents a 6.3% increase from last year and is higher than the 5.5% increase of the gross governmental spending. With an increased budget for social welfare, my Government has been further strengthening tailored welfare services to the socially marginalized groups.

Third, we need to pay particular attention to socially vulnerable groups, such as persons with disabilities and older persons. Indeed, such individuals belonging to the most vulnerable groups have been hit hardest by the recent economic downturn and ongoing global social crisis. We need to review and improve our policies to address the specific needs of the persons from these vulnerable groups.

With regards to persons with disabilities, my delegation would first like to note with appreciation the comprehensive report by the Secretary-General on the Status of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. My delegation is pleased to note that there has been a steady increase in the number of countries that have signed or ratified the Convention, now reaching 102 States parties and 149 signatories. It is also encouraging that many countries are taking measures to harmonize national laws and enact new legislation to implement the Convention.

The Korean Government has been making sustained efforts to implement the CRPD faithfully, and as a part of such efforts, we introduced the Act on Pension for Persons with Disabilities last year. The Act aims to improve the welfare of disabled persons and enhance their social inclusion, by paying out a monthly pension whose amount is decided depending on the degree of disability and income level. In 2008, we also introduced the Anti-Discrimination against and Remedies for Persons with Disabilities Act and have been closely monitoring the enforcement of the Act.

With regards to elderly persons, my delegation would like to express its sincere appreciation for the Secretary-General’s report on “follow-up to the Second World Assembly on Ageing,” which offers a comprehensive overview of the challenges faced by older women and men in the enjoyment of their rights, and also outlines examples of Government responses to those challenges. I believe it would serve as an excellent and inspiring reference for many countries which are struggling to cope with the emerging issue of aging.

The Republic of Korea, faced with rapid demographic changes, takes the issue of an aging population very seriously. To address the social issues arising from an aging population, we have been developing and implementing several policy initiatives. During the first five years, from 2006 to 2010, of the Basic Five-year Plan for Aging Society, we introduced the Basic Old-age Pension, paying out a basic pension to 70% of the elderly aged over 65. The Long-term Care Insurance System, which has been in place from 2008, provides care services for over 280,000 older people having difficulties with moving around. Under the current Second Basic Five-year Plan for Aging Society, ranging from 2011 to 2015, we are planning to create 300,000 jobs for the retired baby boomers and expand infrastructure to help the elderly participate in volunteer services and enjoy leisure activities.

Today, my delegation is joined by our youth representative to share some of the valuable thoughts of the young people. Let me introduce Ahn, Lee-seul, the youth representative of the Republic of Korea. 

Ms. AHN, Lee-seul
Youth Representative of the Republic of Korea
On the agenda item 27(Social Development) of the 66th Session of the General Assembly

October 4, 2011
New York

Check against Delivery

Mr. Chair, honorable delegates, and dear fellow youth delegates, it is the best honor for meto be present here as the youth delegateof my country to the UN General Assembly. Thank you for providing this valuable opportunity to engage in timely discussions on the issue of great significance in the world.

Mr. Chair, The global economic crisis has also made global social crisis increase in many fields, such as extreme poverty and unemployment. In this process, the gap between and within various social levels has been widened. We need to try to reduce the gap between many socio-economic levels and integrate them for sincere progress of entire society. In this regard, I’d like to emphasize the role of education.

First of all, as a youth representative, my delegation would first like to note improving the youth’s access to education. Providing sufficient access to education for the youths in all level fields can give them opportunities of employment and also can disconnect the linkage of poverty fromtheir former generations. The Korean Government has been making efforts to support many students in low-income level preparing Korean SAT by providing free additional lectures through public educational broadcasting system. The distinguished public school teachers are giving high-quality classes covering all subjects in Korean regular educational curriculum. As a result, we can say that Korean students have their own best private tutors without paying any tuition. This is a good example providing assistance to the students not only in low economic levels but also in rural areas.

Second, I believe we need to further strengthen our efforts for the protection and promotion of human rights of those with different cultural backgrounds in a society. In particular, it is significant to let them achieve same level of opportunities as other social members through additional education services. Korea, amid the sharp growth of the number of immigrants, has been making sustained efforts for these people with different cultural backgrounds, including such measures as providing Korean language education programs to immigrant female spouses. While they’re taking these Korean classes, many Korean youths are volunteering to take care of babies of the immigrant female spouses.

Mr. Chair, We can accomplish social development embracing socially vulnerable groups by giving them sufficient support in the field of education. I strongly believe it would provide the valuable opportunity to take a step forward in each individual level, state level and finally entire whole world level. Let us take the meaningful steps together through the power of education. 

Thank you, Mr. Chair.