KWDI Korean Women’s Development Institute

This study, a fifth-year study on effective establishment for GM-related systems, aims to explore the effective measures to implement the outcomes of Gender Impact Assessment(GIA). With its 7-year experience to practice GIA, Korea government enforced the Act on Gender Impact Assessment in 2012. Though quantitative growth of GIA, there are still many challenges to be met in order for feedbacks of GIA to be fully reflected to policies. Therefore, we examine major policy recommendations made by GIA in different categories and a number of selected successful cases to implement the suggestions. We also make further recommendations to improve implementation of GIA outcomes based on findings of a survey on relevant government officials and experts. This study makes a conclusion with several policy recommendations for GIA as follows:

First, regarding the relevant law, the Act on GIA needs to be partly revised especially in order to provide a legal basis for government to implement GIA results. The legal base is necessary for citizens to experience policy changes made by GIA and for civil society as well as government officials to participate in the process. The ordinances on GIA by some local governments including Gwangjo Metropolitan City are good examples to state "In order to improve effectiveness of GIA, the efforts shall be made to encourage citizens' initiatives and voluntarism and to establish governance between government and civil society by utilizing citizens' policy proposal, forming committees for citizens' participation, and providing financial support to NGOs." This study suggests that the GIA guideline published by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family (MOGEF) should include the forms to do overall GIA plans and to report implementation of GIA suggestions.

Second, in relation to implementing systems and strengthening accountability, it is recommended that to establish a GIA committee with some working units under the Prime Minister(PM). It is essential to have political will of high level officials in central government for effective functioning GIA systems and to have active involvement of central government bodies in revising relevant regulations and budgeting for reflecting GIA suggestions. The new GIA committee will need some working units such as a GIA working unit and a Gender Budgeting unit, which will play roles for reflecting GIA feedbacks and supporting their implementations in different areas such as health and welfare, local development, and culture and tourism, etc. Also, GIA committees should be formed and operated by each government body in order to implement GIA systematically and to encourage participation of various agents. And because frequent replacement of government officials has put difficulties on GIA suggestions implementation, the bodies conducting GIA have to consider to install a person in charge of gender issues, who will make continuity and effective implementation of GIA and its suggestions. Korea has equipped GIA systems based on the Act of GIA to set up GIA　 Centers in 16 metro cities and provinces, which were assigned by MOGEF. The GIA Centers are playing roles to support GIA and Gender Budgeting in local governments, to expand GIA nationwide, and to function as GIA focal points for gender policies. The Centers have provided relevant training and consulting on GIA systems and need to be better financed for better performance with expertise.

Third, in terms of expanding gender governance and monitoring, GIA systems in Korea have been a government-leading model of cooperation between government officials and experts which allowed activists or citizens to have only limited access. This study examines several good practices on this: in 2012, some local government such as Daejeon Metropolitan City and Gwangju Metropolitan City formed and operated 'Gender Mainstreaming Monitoring Team'. There were some cases to build gender governance by operating Regional Gender Mainstreaming Practice Network(RGPN). These experiences show the possibility to establish Field Based Gender Impact Assessment(FGIA) as a GIA operation model in Korea. Based on these case studies, this research makes a draft guideline for GIA suggestions implementation on the basis of gender governance.