Institute finds entrenched prejudice, mainly toward women
Under a law involving national health insurance, subscribers cannot register their married daughters as dependents, a prohibition linked to the traditional concept that married daughters are no longer part of their birth family. The law was one of some 181 laws called discriminatory by The Korean Women’s Development Institute (KWDI), which reviewed existing laws at the request of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family (MOGEF). The laws named by KWDI are in addition to the 159 laws deemed discriminatory by MOGEF in January. According to the institute’s findings, there were a number of gender-discriminatory provisions on the books. For example, the dress code for the Korean Coast Guard says that "women are advised to wear skirts," and a law governing the safe use of gas stations cautions users that "women’s external features are more important than those of men." In addition, males who are rendered sterile are placed into a ’higher level’ of handicap than their female counterparts.Current maternity protection laws were found to be lacking in provisions for pregnant women. Unlike other social welfare insurance, maternity leave or childcare-leave wages are not tax free. The institute found that the standardized automobile driver’s seats are generally fitted for male adults, and safety belts as well are manufactured under standards for adult male users. The institute also pointed out that anti-tobacco advertisements contained prejudicial rhetoric that in effect stated that tobacco products are more harmful for women than men. The institute also found several laws which discriminated against males, including the disadvantageous position faced in the selection process for receiving national pension payments. Park Seon-yeong, the KWDI researcher who conducted the survey, said, "As the laws were made under consideration of stereotyped differentiation between men and women, they can discriminate against both males and females." The ministry plans to reform more than 80 percent of such laws by next year. The MOGEF has so far revised 18 of 159 discriminatory laws pinpointed during MOGEF’s query in January.
