Episode 17
Why Korea still lacks an antidiscrimination law
This article is by Michael Lee and read by an artificial voice. When 35-year-old accountant Choi Jung-hwan went out to Itaewon, a hub of gay nightlife in central Seoul, earlier this month, he thought he was just another face in the crowd. But as Choi ...
Korea JoongAng Daily - Daily News from Korea · MICHAEL LEE
March 29, 20269m 57s
Show Notes
This article is by Michael Lee and read by an artificial voice.
When 35-year-old accountant Choi Jung-hwan went out to Itaewon, a hub of gay nightlife in central Seoul, earlier this month, he thought he was just another face in the crowd.
But as Choi turned down a drunk stranger's advances on the street, the man shouted at him, "I know where you work. I'm going to tell."
Choi, who used a pseudonym in his interview with the Korea JoongAng Daily, recalled being filled with dread as he ran. "I didn't know what would happen if that guy made good on his threat," he said.
The ominous turn of Choi's night out highlights the lack of legal safeguards against discrimination not only for LGBTQ individuals, but also for other minorities in Korea.
In most advanced economies, such protections are standard. But among members of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), only Korea and Japan lack a single overarching statute barring unequal treatment based on characteristics such as gender, disability, age, race, nationality, religion and sexual orientation in areas including employment, education and public services.
Although lawmakers from two minor liberal parties in Korea submitted separate antidiscrimination bills for consideration by the National Assembly earlier this year, both evoked a strong sense of déjà vu.
The bills are the latest in two decades of legislative proposals that have ultimately been shelved without ever being put to a vote.
In Korea, antidiscrimination bills have been repeatedly introduced for consideration by the legislature since 2007, only to falter and expire before reaching the chamber floor. The reasons lie in an interplay of political caution, social division and the way such legislation has been framed in public debate.
A familiar bill
The two antidiscrimination bills submitted by Rep. Sohn Sol of the liberal Jinbo Party and Rep. Jeong Chun-saeng of the liberal Rebuilding Korea Party both follow the broad contours of earlier proposals in that they not only enumerate protected categories but also define discriminatory conduct and establish mechanisms for redress.
At their core, however, the bills are meant to do something more fundamental: replace a patchwork of issue-specific protections with a unified framework.
"Because current laws treat both the grounds and areas of discrimination separately, it is difficult to address intersectional discrimination, where multiple factors overlap," Rep. Sohn told the Korea JoongAng Daily.
She noted that the absence of a single comprehensive statute defining what constitutes discrimination and hate crimes has made it "difficult to respond effectively" to incidents such as rallies targeting specific nationalities.
An all-encompassing law, she said, is necessary "simply to establish clear standards for what counts as discrimination and hate in our society."
She added that her draft bill reflects lessons from past failures to reach a full Assembly vote by clarifying definitions and emphasizing corrective measures over punitive ones.
Public opinion, divided by design
On its face, public opinion might appear to favor such a law. Polls that ask broad questions about discrimination tend to show strong support for a legal remedy.
But that apparent majority varies across surveys.
"Public opinion polling depends widely on how questions are framed," said Kim Ji-kyung, gender equity commissioner at the National Union of Media Workers.
Kim noted this divergence in polling largely comes down to how questions are worded, adding that surveys commissioned by some Christian groups "are designed to draw respondents' attention to groups that would be protected by antidiscrimination legislation."
However, even the Gallup Korea survey also shows that Koreans do not believe discrimination is a serious problem for all groups. While 46 percent of respondents said that they believe socioeconomic discrimination is "very" serious, only 26 percent said the same of discrimin...
When 35-year-old accountant Choi Jung-hwan went out to Itaewon, a hub of gay nightlife in central Seoul, earlier this month, he thought he was just another face in the crowd.
But as Choi turned down a drunk stranger's advances on the street, the man shouted at him, "I know where you work. I'm going to tell."
Choi, who used a pseudonym in his interview with the Korea JoongAng Daily, recalled being filled with dread as he ran. "I didn't know what would happen if that guy made good on his threat," he said.
The ominous turn of Choi's night out highlights the lack of legal safeguards against discrimination not only for LGBTQ individuals, but also for other minorities in Korea.
In most advanced economies, such protections are standard. But among members of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), only Korea and Japan lack a single overarching statute barring unequal treatment based on characteristics such as gender, disability, age, race, nationality, religion and sexual orientation in areas including employment, education and public services.
Although lawmakers from two minor liberal parties in Korea submitted separate antidiscrimination bills for consideration by the National Assembly earlier this year, both evoked a strong sense of déjà vu.
The bills are the latest in two decades of legislative proposals that have ultimately been shelved without ever being put to a vote.
In Korea, antidiscrimination bills have been repeatedly introduced for consideration by the legislature since 2007, only to falter and expire before reaching the chamber floor. The reasons lie in an interplay of political caution, social division and the way such legislation has been framed in public debate.
A familiar bill
The two antidiscrimination bills submitted by Rep. Sohn Sol of the liberal Jinbo Party and Rep. Jeong Chun-saeng of the liberal Rebuilding Korea Party both follow the broad contours of earlier proposals in that they not only enumerate protected categories but also define discriminatory conduct and establish mechanisms for redress.
At their core, however, the bills are meant to do something more fundamental: replace a patchwork of issue-specific protections with a unified framework.
"Because current laws treat both the grounds and areas of discrimination separately, it is difficult to address intersectional discrimination, where multiple factors overlap," Rep. Sohn told the Korea JoongAng Daily.
She noted that the absence of a single comprehensive statute defining what constitutes discrimination and hate crimes has made it "difficult to respond effectively" to incidents such as rallies targeting specific nationalities.
An all-encompassing law, she said, is necessary "simply to establish clear standards for what counts as discrimination and hate in our society."
She added that her draft bill reflects lessons from past failures to reach a full Assembly vote by clarifying definitions and emphasizing corrective measures over punitive ones.
Public opinion, divided by design
On its face, public opinion might appear to favor such a law. Polls that ask broad questions about discrimination tend to show strong support for a legal remedy.
But that apparent majority varies across surveys.
"Public opinion polling depends widely on how questions are framed," said Kim Ji-kyung, gender equity commissioner at the National Union of Media Workers.
Kim noted this divergence in polling largely comes down to how questions are worded, adding that surveys commissioned by some Christian groups "are designed to draw respondents' attention to groups that would be protected by antidiscrimination legislation."
However, even the Gallup Korea survey also shows that Koreans do not believe discrimination is a serious problem for all groups. While 46 percent of respondents said that they believe socioeconomic discrimination is "very" serious, only 26 percent said the same of discrimin...