The Analysis of the Current Korean Government's Major Achievements of Women's Policies: Focusing on Outstanding Cases
Chung, Hae-Sook(Senior Research Fellow, KWDI)
Kim, Kyung-Hee(Research Fellow, KWDI)
Oh, Eun Jin(Research Fellow, KWDI)
Yoon, Deuk kyoung((Research Fellow, KWDI)
This study aims at both a comprehensive assessment and roundup of the current government's major women's policies through analysis and review of background and achievement of the process of the policies, focusing especially on successful women's policies, and, based on this analysis and review, proposing future agendas in the correlative areas. Before the inception of the new government, the current government at the pan-government level is pushing ahead a task to publish "the government performance management white paper”as an official historical record in a chronicle format that comprehensively evaluates and files major achievements for the last five years. This study is also a part of this task. Four areas from women's policies which will be included in "the government performance management white paper” are selected: "reflection of gender perspective in policies,” "consolidation of support for employment of career-break women,” "consolidation of support for multi-cultural families,”and "consolidation of prevention of sexual abuse and early intervention service for children and women.”
□ Reflection of Gender Perspective in Policies
This policy has shown enormous development in light of legal and managemental aspects, which attracts global attention. The number of participating institutes and relevant tasks of Gender Impact Assessment have increased significantly during the current administration. In order to enhance the quality of the Gender Impact Assessment and vitalize the local women's policies, the local Gender Impact Assessment institutes in sixteen provinces and cities nationwide as well as the central Gender Impact Assessment institute have been designated and run by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family. After the budget for the Gender Sensitive Policy was included in the central government budget in 2009, in 2012 the local budget for the Gender Sensitive Policy is imposed to expand its scope from the central government to the local governments. Women Friendly City Project started to meet the needs for the safety of women in everyday life. the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family selected and designated more than thirty cities as Women Friendly City to change urban space in these cities as spaces friendly to women and families.
□ Consolidation of Support for Employment of Career-interrupted Women
"The Act on the Promotion Of the Economic Activities Of Career-interrupted Women, Etc.”was established and taken effect by the current government in 2008 to support for employment of Career-interrupted women who are
suffering from difficulties in entrance to labor market and retention; also, the government adopts this act as the major government agenda. Re-employment for Women Project is significant in that it systematically plans, establishes, and carries out employment programs targeting on women (age 25 to 54) who could not continue their career development due to 'marriage, childbirth, childcare, taking care of family, etc.' New Job for Women Project designates re-employment Centers for Women (Saeil Center) to provide employment support service which purports to help Career-interrupted women re-entry to workforce. Currently, nationwide more than 100 Re-employment Centers for Women are run, and in 2011, 310 job training programs in total were run so that employment rate rose to 59.4%. From 2009 to 2011, the total number of newly-employed career-interrupted women was 286,864; this can be interpreted that this program and centers have successfully encouraged women who suffered from long-term Career-interrupted to look for jobs and be employed.
□ Consolidation of Support for Multicultural Families
Since 2008 when the current government began, the policies to support multicultural families that consist of the couples of an immigrant spouse and a Korean native have rapidly developed. The whole budget for the program supporting multicultural families has increased from $ 6 billion in 2007 to $107 billion in 2012. Also, such foundations for promoting policies related to multicultural families support have been established: Enactment of the "Support for Multicultural Families Act" (March 21, 2008); establishment of the ‘Multicultural Family Policy Council’ with the Prime Minister appointed as the Chairman; establishment and promotion of "multicultural family support policy: Basic Plans (2010-2012)" that has features of pan-governmental basic plan of multicutural family support policy; nationwide establishment of multicultural family support centers. As results of this program, percentage of married immigrants who got benefits from Korean education increased to 18.6 % in 2011 which was three times more than 5.3 % in 2007, and the rate of satisfaction about education of Korean language reached 92%; these results prove how policies for the social Integration of marriage-based immigrants and their Family have succeeded. Furthermore, via education in schools, special programs have been planned and operated to make people reconsider multiculturalism as a idea that purports to build a society where no one, regardless of one's race or nationality, will be discriminated and everyone live together without being subject to discriminatory prejudices. For example, the government runs such programs as consolidation of educational content for understanding multiculturalism in 2009 revised curriculum and textbooks, opening multicultural education classes in pre-service teacher education programs, K-12 in-service professional development programs, etc.
□ Consolidation of prevention of sexual abuse and early intervention service for children and women
"Consolidation of prevention of sexual abuse and early intervention service for children and women" was set up as a government agenda from the beginning of the current government that recognized people's increasing concerns and needs for human rights of children and women. Especially, as the child abuse became a social hot issue, the prevention of childhood sexual abuse as the current government's agenda has shown the most significant development and consolidation of the relevant laws and systems for the last five years. For the punishment of sexual abuse and reinforcement of program on sex crime recidivism, such agendas and programs were established and operated: toughened penalties for sex crime, enhancement of investigation system and support for victims, reinforcement of program on sex crime recidivism, and establishment of duty of reporting child sex abuse and the regulation that limits employment of sex offenders on child. Also, in order to expand the system that supports and protects child and woman victims, such programs were operated: operation of Counseling Centers for Victims of Sexual Assault and victim protection facilities and special programs to support victims of sexual assault such as Integrated Support Centers for Victims and Korea Support Center for Women and Children Victims of Violence. In addition, policies about local woman and child protection and protective education and public relation of violence against women and children were established and operated