COMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS CONCLUDES REVIEW OF SECOND PERIODIC REPORT OF REPUBLIC OF KOREA

CESCR
25th session
1 May 2001
Afternoon





The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights this afternoon finished its examination of the second periodic report of the Republic of Korea on how that country implements the rights guaranteed within the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

A Government delegation, headed by Kyung-wha Kang, the Deputy Director-General for International Organizations within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, answered questions posed by Committee Experts this morning. The topics ranged in scope from the country's divorce rate and the extent of allowed maternity leave to the National Pension Scheme.

Ms. Kang said the divorce rate was rising, and that was an indication of the rising status of women in society. It reflected the empowerment of women. In the past, when women did not have economic resources, they could have been locked into marriages they did not want.

Speaking about maternity leave, she said that the Government offered a 60-day leave with full pay. The pay was given by the employer. The Government was in the process of revising that to 90 days with pay. The question was financing the additional 30 days of pay -- the employers would continue to pay for only 60 days.

About the National Pension Scheme, the delegation said it began for teachers, civil servants and military personnel. In 1989, it began targeting workplaces with 10 or more workers. The scheme itself was there for anyone wishing to pay into it. As of 2000, there were 16.6 million people between the ages of 16 and 60 in the system -- that was 55 to 60 per cent of the population. Efforts were being made to increase that percentage. Salaried workers were almost all in the system. Most of the people who were not in the system were self-employed workers who had once paid in but now could not afford to. This was a problem from the economic crisis. Hopefully, with the economic recovery, these people would return to the system.


The Committee will offer its conclusions and recommendations on the report toward the end of its three-week session, which concludes on 11 May.

The Committee will reconvene at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, 2 May to begin consideration of the initial report of Bolivia.

Discussion

Asked about divorce, the delegation said the divorce rate was rising, and that was an indication of the rising status of women in society. It reflected the empowerment of women. In the past, when women did not have economic resources, they could have been locked into marriages they did not want.

Regarding a question about maternity leave, the delegation said the Government offered a 60-day leave with full pay. The pay was given by the employer. The Government was in the process of revising that to 90 days with pay. The question was financing the additional 30 days of pay -- the employers would continue to pay only for 60 days. Even when it passed, it would be short of the 14 weeks required in the ILO Convention on Maternity Leave, and thus the Government had not signed it.

The delegation said there was a problem with identifying the sex of fetuses, and the subsequent aborting of female fetuses. There was a growing imbalance of the sexes, and this, in the future, would become a serious problem. The Government was doing all it could. The Government prohibited the procedure of identifying the sex of fetuses. The country's preference of sons to daughters was responsible for the continuing practice. In 1991, the number of artificial abortions was 1.1 of 1,000 women. In 1994, that dropped to 0.8 per cent. And in 1997, that had dropped to 0.7 per cent. It was hoped that the rate would continue to drop. In the meantime, it had led to a practice of unsafe abortions, and led to a high maternity mortality rate.

Regarding child prostitution and child exploitation, the delegation said the Youth Sexual Exploitation and Prevention Act was designed to protect the sexuality of the younger generation. The law was enacted last year, and statistics were not yet available. The feeling was that it was a growing problem, and that there were adults who were participating in this trade and this hideous crime. Technology was a key factor -- it was easy to find these things on the Internet. There was a Government office that worked toward the eradication of child exploitation and child prostitution.

The social security budget, the delegation said, was 7 per cent of the national budget, as opposed to the defense budget, which was 17 per cent. But within the limited means, maximum resources were provided for social security provisions.

Asked about high medical costs, the delegation said the reason for high co-payments was because the insurance premiums were comparatively low.

The delegation said a State-established cancer centre had been established near Seoul. As far as HIV/AIDS was concerned, the Government had the AIDS Prevention Act. Free testing was available to anybody who wanted to be tested. Condoms were provided, and pamphlets were disseminated to warn about the transmission of AIDS.


About the National Pension Scheme, the delegation said it began for teachers, civil servants and military personnel. In 1989, it began targeting workplaces with 10 or more workers. The scheme itself was there for anyone wishing to pay into it. As of 2000, there were 16.6 million people between the ages of 16 and 60 in the system -- that was 55 to 60 per cent of the population. Efforts were being made to increase that percentage. Salaried workers were almost all in the system. Most of the people who were not in the system were self-employed workers who had once paid in but now could not afford to. This was a problem from the economic crisis. Hopefully, with the economic recovery, these people would return to the system.

The delegation said there were Government efforts to ensure that no evictions were carried out without offers of alternative housing. According to provisions of the Urban Development Act, developers could not execute a redevelopment project unless they either provided temporary accommodations for residents whose homes were to be demolished or unless they took necessary measures, such a providing housing loans. There could be exceptions that escaped the notice of the Government. But even with private developers, laws prohibited them from demolishing existing housing without compensation.

The homeless, the delegation said, defined as those who begged or roamed the streets for an extensive period of time without having regular shelter, had been housed in social security facilities. There were 150 temporary shelters nationwide operated by various religious groups and civil organizations to protect the homeless, and a Government grant was provided for their food and clothing. Those needing long-term protection due to severe physical and mental disabilities were placed in 45 welfare facilities. The Government was taking measures to implement various rehabilitation and self-aid programmes to enable the homeless to return to society as quickly as possible.

For children of immigrants, the delegation said, primary education was offered to them. They were also offered medical coverage.

Asked about prostitution in the Republic of Korea, the delegation said it was illegal, and was punishable by law. There was the Prostitution Prevention Act, and revisions were being considered to make it easier for the women to return to society.

Regarding mental health, the delegation said for the most part, non-profit organizations provided treatment for people with mental illnesses. Medical experts were deciding the treatments that people needed.

The delegation said the percentage of the budget for education was 21.2 per cent in 2000, up from 20.6 per cent in 1999.

A free secondary education, the delegation said, required the Government to bear an enormous financial burden which currently amounted to 4.1 trillion won (about $ 3.4 billion). The Government had made efforts to expand opportunities for higher education, although free tertiary education had not been provided due to budget restraints. There were also certain limitations in lowering tertiary education fees because most funds came from students' tuition. However, the high cost of higher education did not seem to contribute to the disparities between the educational levels of men and women. As of 2000, the number of female graduates in higher education equalled the number of male graduates.


The delegation said the Government fostered respect for human rights in students' minds by including human rights in its formal education curriculum. Human rights, an essential element of school education, were taught in all scopes of school activities including curricular, extracurricular and elective activities. Human rights were reflected in the curriculum's goals and objectives, and were integrated into the teaching of other subjects, such as social studies and ethics.

Asked about censorship on cultural and educational activities, the delegation said the Government did not censor any cultural and educational activity. However, it should be noted that the Korean Media Rating Board, a civil organization, had been established to rate audio-visual materials such as films, videos and games into four categories, depending on content contained in the material and the audience's age. This rating system was introduced to uphold good morals and principles and to protect children by preventing them from viewing material that contained violence and obscenity. The Board, a civil self-regulation body, implemented the ratings' detailed standards.




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