On November 14, 2007, 101 nationwide human rights, women and religious NGOs including Korean Women Workers Association (KWWA) and Korean Women’s Associations United (KWAU) met the press in front of the Chung Wa Dae (the Presidential Residence), in order to call for the appropriate enactment of a Discrimination Prevention Act.

A press conference was called to denounce the reduction in the scopes of discrimination stipulated by the bill although it was already discussed at a public hearing, and to enact an appropriate act during the tenure of this president.

Initially, it was stipulated in the Discrimination Prevention Act that ‘treatments and actions of segregating, differentiating, restricting, excluding or disadvantaging an individual or a group in excuse of marriage, pregnancy or childbirth, type of family, religion, ideology or political view, criminal records, custody, sexual orientation, educational background, social status, and physical conditions including sex, disability, age, nationality, ethnicity, race, skin color, native place, appearance without any reasonable reason’ are classified into scopes of discrimination, and the Law Ministry made its preliminary announcement from October 2^nd 2007. Nevertheless, the articles regarding ‘sexual orientation, educational background and military record, nationality, language, criminal records, type of family and family condition’ were removed, when the bill was submitted to the Regulatory Reform Committee after the period of the public preliminary notification.

At the press conference, a statement was made by Nam-Yoon Insoon. Followed were denouncements by Park-Kim Younghee (activist of Solidarity against Disability Discrimination),  Kim  Jungbum (a chairperson of Association of Physicians for Humanism and Korean Federation of Medical Groups of Health Rights), Cho Heejoo (from Progressive Education Network), clergywoman Lee  Moonsook (secretary general of Korea Church Women United), Jang  Seo-yon (lawyer from Gong-Gam, a public interest lawyers’ group) who denounced the problematic reduction in the scopes of discrimination. After that, performances were carried out to call for the enactment of an appropriate discrimination prevention act as a means of realizing an ‘equal society,’ and a press release was read. Participating organizations discussed future actions and planned to take a variety of actions to enact the appropriate discrimination prevention bill.

Written by Park-Cha Okkyung, KWAU

Press Release

National Women’s Rally was held on November 11, 2007.

Unfortunately many women from other regions were not able to join the rally due to severe traffic jams, and so at the begining of the rally women living in Seoul and Gyonggi province mainly took part. But happily women from other regions such as Jinjoo and Cheongjoo finally managed to join together.

Women had a meaningful and valuable time with other citizens to prevent FTA from being ratified with the US and to remove discrimination against irregular workers.

- a series of Kwon Younggil, Democratic Labor Party’s presidential candidate

On November 8^th 2007, Korean Women Workers Association (KWWA) and Korean Women’s Trade Union (KWTU) jointly organized presidential election pledges-delivering symposiums. Under the presidency of Choi Sangrim, chairperson of KWWA, a symposium as the second sequence was held to make women workers’ demands to Kwon Younggil, Democratic Labor Party’s presidential candidate.

Initially, the candidate was supposed to attend the symposium, but instead, Noh Hoe-chan, the election polling committee president, Ae-ja Hyun, a national assembly member belonging to the Health and Welfare Committee, Lee Soo-jung, Seoul Metropolitan Council member, and Park  Insook, supreme council member joined the symposium, because the schedule of the candidate overlapped with a TV program, 100 minute Debate. It is said that the candidate hopes to become a gender sensitive president in the era of women activation.

The Democratic Labor Party presents improving women’s economic and social powers, ensuring women’s rights to security and health, and enhancing gender equal policies as presidential election pledges in the women related areas.

In details, the Democratic Labor Party presents as essential presidential election pledges by session, insuring women’s rights to work, removing women’s poverty and expanding social securities, guaranteeing women’s rights to pregnancy, baby delivery and health, realizing female safe society, guaranteeing social statuses of various forms of families, politicizing women at grassroots levels, and gender equality.

Women workers at the workplace asked the following questions, after the Democratic Labor Party gave a brief presentation about its election pledges:

ŸQ (by Huh Jang-hui, dismissed Lotte Hotel worker): I am undergoing unreasonable minimum wages and insecure employment as a subcontracted worker. Has the Democratic Labor Party prepared for any countermeasure to tackle unreasonable minimum wages and insecure employment and increasing irregular jobs in the public sector?

 A: It is desirable that subcontracted workers should be upgraded to directly-employed workers. Mother companies and contractors should be included to the scope of employers. Minimum wages should be increased to 50% of average wages of regular workers, and up to 60% in the long term.

ŸQ (by Kim Eun-sook, assistant of 88CC): Do you have specially-hired workers related policies?

 A: Rights to work for specially-hired workers should be guaranteed and labor’s three major rights should be protected.

ŸQ (by Park Namhee, chairperson of KWTU): Please tell me how to realize the equal pay for work of equal value in practice in the public sector in order to tackle the expansion of irregular jobs and gender discrimination?

 A: legal realization of the equal pay for work of equal value is needed. Job evaluation-based wage systems should be implemented in gender-sensitive perspectives.

ŸQ (Um Kyeong-ae, Incheon Women Workers Association): Please tell me how to implement social insurances including reducing social insurance fees and introducing childbirth credits.

 A: Many people including farmers, small-size self-employed people, and irregular workers are excluded from the social insecurity system. Achieving their legal statuses as workers is a key point. For example, house caretakers cannot sign secure employment contracts with employers, and the number of job placement agencies is about 7,000 across the nation and among them that of public job centers is 500. However, just 7~80 job centers play a substantial role. The public job center-led reorganization in the house caretaker market should be made. The enactment of gender discrimination prevention laws will increase the current health insurance coverage level to 90% from 60%.

ŸQ (by Hong Seonghee, manager of National Cooperative of House Managers in Ansan): House caretakers’ rights are largely violated. They are not covered by social insurances, working in tough working conditions. They have also experienced severe and forced job allocations. Please tell me how to decrease harmful paid job placement agencies?

ŸQ (Kim Ok-hee, member of single parents’ meeting belonging to Ansan Women Workers Association): Do you have any measure to support living costs, medical fees and university tuition fees when single parents receive job training in order to find skilled jobs?

 A: We will set up social systems for supporting marginalized single parent families.

ŸQ: Even public jobs created by the government always provide payment in accordance with minimum wages. I wonder why the government establishes the minimum wage system?

 A: “Important is what sort of a regime.” I believe it depends on perspectives and philosophy rather than money. In relation to the expansion of social services, it is only Democratic Labor Party that raises issues regarding the employment of social service workers.

ŸQ: Please tell me about discrimination against irregular workers at schools.

 A: Even we wonder if relevant polices are feasible even though they were discussed. That’s why, we have prepared reliable budgeting since the presidential election in 2002. (Equal pays for) irregular workers in the public sector are viewed as possibly insured from the budget. However assistance for irregular workers in the private sector should be made, and especially for those who are working at very small size companies with less than 100 workers. The regularization of irregular workers in the public sector is feasible from the current national budget.

ŸQ: Please tell me about your plan to remove gaps in education.

 A: I think (policy-making in) education is up to perspectives: some view it as a product, others as a public service and welfare. Korean public share in the field of education is 30%. In Korea only at the age of 19, lifestyles are restricted, partners are decided, and sizes of their houses and friends are limited. The present 5% should be increased to 7%, in terms of budget on education. Private universities and colleges account for 80%, and in the circumstances I believe standardizing them is difficult in Korea. The Seoul National University should be reorganized on the basis of postgraduate schools, and other national or public universities should be upgraded to the level in which the Seoul National University maintains. Close networks amongst national or public universities will be able to remove barriers between schools. The advancement in education is standardizing. The number of national or public universities should be increased and (levels from elementary schools to universities and colleges) should be standardized.

ŸQ: Please tell me about your measurements in housing.
 A: As prices of real estates rise, there has been an increase in the cost of production. If an increase is made by 10 billion won, some people should burden that. Profits gained by investments in real estates should be socially collected.

At the end, the tree of hope conveying the voices of women workers was given as presidential agendas, to the Democratic Labor Party. Women workers’ voices must be heard as Democratic Labor Party’s good policies in practice.

Note taken and summarized by Shin MyungJin

I was looking forward to seeing the Women Workers Film Festival and its curtain was finally raised. It has become far better and developed over time since 2004 when the first festival was commenced. On Saturday, November 3^rd, 2007, although the festival was just commenced, it was so popular that all the seats were highly occupied. The Women Workers Film Festival will last for other 3 days with the help of hardworking volunteers including middle school students to members of the society, regardless of occupation and age.

The opening ceremony was the most eye-catching. At the opening addresses, Choi Sangrim, Chairperson of Korean Women Workers Association, Park  Namhee, Chairperson of Korean Women's Trade Union, and Yoon Hye-ryeon, Chairperson of Seoul Women Workers Association addressed a message that the films are about ordinary women, our mothers, our sisters and themselves in Korea, and asked for our constant interests in the festival. In addition, they evaluated the 1970s to be the history of struggles, and little improvement has been made in terms of working conditions and demands of workers who the films portray, mentioning this festival offers a venue to confirm that. However, they underlined they would have continued to carry out their struggles to improve working conditions, and hoped many people can join the movement together.

Kang Kyeonghee, chairperson of the Korea Foundation for Women, Park Soo-ae, wife of Creative Korea Party’s president, Lee Kyeong-eun, chairperson of Eui-jeongbu Women Association joined the film as guests. Followed are greetings by volunteers who help to bloom and fruit the festival, conveying their affections and hopes for the successful festival.

A performance by ‘rapping peppermint’ was followed. The performance created a festive mood and encouraged people to take an active part. From time to time, the musicians added rap lyrics for their congratulations on this festival. It was very amusing and fun.

In an interview, Bae Jin-kyung, secretary-general of KWWA in charge of planning and organizing this festival hoped we could have a good time to raise our concerns for the society, awaken our self-images and look at what have happened and what is truth in the society, rather than just accept distorted social images delivered by the press. The Phantom of the Operator was designated as an opening film. This Canadian film is a black-and-white film, whose beauty is its special structure. When the organizer let us know her funny episode experienced when she tried to import the film, a cheerful atmosphere was created. A good start guarantees a good end! I hope the Women Workers Film Festival with a good start can give a big leap forward in the end. I hope audiences and participants can have a valuable opportunity to improve their awareness to the higher level: ‘my stories, and important issues in our society’ not ‘her stories’ or ‘others stories different from me’,

written by Sookyoung, a volunteer

There has been increasing criticism for the unjust decision on the reinstatement of wrongdoers responsible for sexual harassment. On December 11, 2007, at a news conference, about 30 activists and members from Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, Federation of Korean Trade Unions, Korean Women's Trade Union, and Korean Women Workers Association, and Women Corea protested in front of the National Labor Relations Commission, against the unjust decision of the sexual harassment case occurring at Incheon International Airport.

The activists claimed “the decision on the sexual harassment occurring at Incheon International Airport accepted only the statement made by the wrongdoer and mostly ignored special circumstances regarding this sexual harassment case. We suspect the public committee members of the National Labor Relations Commission to be inappropriate and unqualified, so that they should not be involved in making decisions on sexual harassment cases. We demand the National Labor Relations Commission which made this decision on the reinstatement of the wrongdoer responsible for sexual harassment should deprive the public commission members in charge of their qualifications, should increase female commission members's ratios, and show a future plan for upgrading and conducting gender-sensitive perspectives in practice.”

-A symposium was held under the theme of “examination and vision of the Korean women workers’ movement for 20 years.”

A symposium was organized on October 30^th, 2007 in celebration of 20 years of KWWA. The first symposium under the title of “Women’s Work, Changes for 20 years and Prospect” examined objectively the changes of ‘Korean women workers’ for the past 20 years, and the second symposium looked subjectively at how ‘women workers’ movement’ has been changed.

20 years of empowering Korean women workers

Choi Sangrim, chairperson of Korean Women Workers Association (KWWA) largely made 4 divisions of our activities by period.

First of all, between 1987 when KWWA was founded and 1992, KWWA was very actively involved in the establishment of democratic trade unions. A highest number of trade unions were organized in Korea during the period. KWWA endeavored to support the establishment of democratic trade unions and increase in trade unions, the awareness of women workers’ issues such as equal employment opportunities and maternity protection.

During the second period between 1992 and 1998, the necessity for our supporting trade unions was steadily decreased due to the foundation of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU). There was a rising necessity for organizing unorganized women workers, and so we at KWWA carried out activities such as vocational training, job placement, and open classes to meet women workers’ needs. Hotline for Equality, hotlines for improving equal employment for women was initiated in 1994.

Thirdly, between 1998 and 2002 most women workers experienced sudden poor working conditions such as unemployment, irregular employment and underemployment due to the Korean financial crisis in late 1997. 9 branch offices of KWWA across the nation established the ‘Action Center for Women’s Unemployment’ to publicize serious situations of unemployed women who had been mostly ignored in the shade of social concerns about male breadwinners’ unemployment, and as a consequence, our activities generated the provision of social welfare systems for ‘unemployed women’.

In addition, Korean Women’s Trade Union (KWTU) was established in 1999 to tackle difficulties of irregular women workers. Different forms of irregular employment were largely spread out in the Korean society since the Korean financial crisis. The membership of KWTU was about 450 in 1999 when it was founded, presently increased to 6000, and it is evaluated as a good example of organizing various kinds of irregular women workers.

During the fourth period from 2002 up to the present, KWWA has tried to tackle women workers’ poverty that has become far more serious by socioeconomic polarization. The National Cooperative of House Managers (NCHM) and the Hope Center to Abolish Poverty and Increase the Rights of Women Workers (HCAPIRWW) were founded in 2004 and 2006, respectively, in order to tackle middle aged women workers’ unemployment and labor issues in the informal sector. The organizations aimed to overcome limitations of women workers in poverty who was mostly viewed as just recipients of social welfare, to empower them by themselves and to get actively involved in tackling socioeconomic polarization.

Women Activists evaluated ”what good jobs we have done”

All of KWWA’s women activists were engaged in the self-evaluation of our activities for the past 20 years and chose the following as “our good jobs.”

The most fruitful outcome was the improvement of acts and regulations. For the 20 years we have undertaken the improvement of numerous regulations and acts such as Infant Care Act (enacted in 1991), Sexual Equality Employment Act (in 1987), Employment Insurance Act (in 1993), Gender Discrimination Prevention & Relief Act (enforced in 1997), paid beak for childcare (introduced in 2001), assistance system for unemployed women householders (in 1998), and minimum wage system. Additionally, our activities have had a great impact on government’s policy making.

“What we like the most is the enactment of the Infant Care Act. At that time, people had to bring their kids from very distant places by bus (to put their children in childcare centers). So, childcare facilities are so valuable to us. Mothers whose children were cared in the centers joined signature collecting campaign together. We were very happy when the act was made.”

The second most fruitful outcome was the establishment of women’s trade unions. Many doubted the establishment of Korean Women’s Trade Union (KWTU), although they agreed on the necessity of the establishment, but KWTU was founded amid the swirl of the economic crisis, and has been growing with 6,000 members. As a result, we evaluated to have two main pillars in the Korean women workers’ movement.

“For 7 years we have fought for irregular workers that none is concerned. At that time, we seemed in the fog of uncertainty. KWTU was only one solution. We could help trying to organize women workers in workplace to reach out our hands for them. We believe setting up (women’s) trade union would encourage irregular women workers whose voice was unheard to speak up in the society. So (we believe) women workers were able to tackle (their problems by themselves).”

Organizing women in need was evaluated as the third most fruitful outcome by female activists. They were marginalized as unemployed women, women in poverty, irregular workers in the labor market, but KWWA has carried out activities but to organize and empower women workers who are in a vicious circle of unemployment, underemployment and employment, not just to give assistance to them. In the forms of cooperatives as well as KWTU, attempts to organize women have been made, and some of them are very successful. The National Cooperative of House Managers (NCHM) is a valuable example.

“There were unorganized workers working as underemployed workers, the unemployed and working women in the informal sector. A lot! We felt we should play our role in helping those people and their organizations to speak out through any form of organization. So, we made this cooperative. KWWA aims to activate and consolidate the organization. Our role is to help this self-dependent organization grow rather than to confine it within KWWA.”

Our most important task is improving the quality of life for women workers impoverished due to socio-economic polarization

Rapidly changing globalization and socioeconomic polarization have affected the Korean women workers’ movement. Most women activists agreed that ‘improving the quality of life for women workers’ is the most important task.

“For example, in 1987 we demanded to increase wages and improve working conditions. But now we call for more jobs for women. (We can say) we seemed in retreat and so are women workers.  At that time, we demanded all of the abolishment of gender discrimination, and equal pay for equal work, but now we ask the government to create more jobs. Since the conditions are worsening, the scope of our tasks is wider.”

“People have become individualized in severe competition, so people have lost easy and composed attitudes. We are trying to help people to speak up and lead a happy life. Our initial aim of our movement and activities are still going on.”

Choi Sangrim, chairperson of KWWA emphasized ‘equal pay for work of equal value should be applied in the society through gender-equal job analysis, all workers should be beneficiaries of the 4 major social insurances, and irregular workers should be socially insured in the medical, housing and education fields.’ In order to achieve this, she indicated ‘the women workers’ movement should develop methods of organization in accordance with women’s situations and help them grow as a variety of organizations. The alternative economic movement should be expanded and reached to daily lives as well as workplaces.

I’ve already grown as a middle-grade activist over the time of endurance

Professor Shin Kyeong-ah, in charge of the second debate, evaluated merits of women workers’ associations in the following after carrying out in-depth interviews with 12 women workers.

(The researcher evaluated each) branch organization under KWWA looked at what have needed for women workers (workplace-oriented), provided what they have needed (practice-oriented), and (evaluated) the backbone of the movement was women workers (people-led).  The organizations can be said to be a driving force for successful law reform movement.”

However, the researcher evaluated women workers working at KWWA’s organizations had seemed very exhausted after analyzing 12 activists’ lives, and participants agreed about that. As shown through a talk by an activist “I’ve already grown as a middle-grade activist over time of endurance,” systematic training program is urgently needed. In addition, ‘carrying out generation-cognitive projects,’ ‘increasing payment and reducing workloads,’ and ‘preparing projects for retired activists’ were pointed out as our future tasks.

In celebration of 20 years of Korean Women Workers Association (KWWA), KWWA is under discussion on setting up its visions. KWWA evaluated and reviewed its activities for the past 20 years, and conducted a survey on its activities for the 20 years and the examination of reality, targeting all the staff. Between 19-20th October, 2007, a workshop on KWWA’s vision was organized in Daejeon to discuss where we are, and how and where we should go in future.

About 90 staff members took a part in the workshop. Substantial lectures carried out first were hits with the participants. In the first session about ‘women workers’ changing lives,’ professor Cho Soonkyung gave a lecture on struggles and solidarity for analyzing male regular workers-centered labor market in the feminist perspective and improving discriminatory situations, and professor Lee Youngja, a sociologist talked about the theme of ‘making solidarity beyond labor issues against globalization and carrying out the life movement with a new perspective.’ Although the long titles sounded like headaches, we were able to feel her pains and sincerity during the first lecture, and the latter lecture was energetic, cheering and heart-warming. The lectures were so substantial that participants asked so many questions to the lecturers. We were just sorry that we didn’t have enough time to discuss fully.

The lectures was followed by the announcement of results on the survey where full-time staffs and important members participated and talks about the evaluation of KWWA’s 20 years and development tasks carried out by KWWA’s chairperson. Because we wanted to know what ideas other staff and activists have, the survey result draw our attention a lot. According to the survey result, staff members and activists shared our vision on this organization relatively well, and 75.9% took pride in our organization, which is quite high, and 77.6% evaluated they have grown a lot through KWWA’s activities. However, the people surveyed raised several points that the vision of this organization should go with visions for individual members, capability building is important in the organization, training opportunities should be expanded, and there should be decreases in workloads and increases in payment.

After dinner, we had a get-together, a highlight of the workshop, lasting for 6 hours until the next morning. Kim Kwang-sook from a gender education center introduced how to establish philosophy for individual members and this organization and set up the vision for this organization together. In the following session, we spent time on praising others. At the beginning, participants were so embarrassed that we did not know how to do nicely. But over time we became so engaged in this session that we could be good at finding other people’s good points. We also had a good time to write down ‘what I want to be like’ and let others know it with confidence, and to make a practical and reliable plan in the 4 areas of knowledge, virtue, health and spirit. The participants were so full of self-esteem and confidence through this session that they could be fully engaged in the establishment of vision for this organization, which were organized in the following day. Although it was too hard to finalize the project for setting up the vision for this organization, it was a very impressive and valuable moment in which we can check the image and vision for this organization together.

Korean Women Workers Association (KWWA) and Korean Women’s Trade Union (KWTU) jointly held a forum (on suggestions to presidential candidates made by 4 female labor specialists--realities and solution of women workers) to produce practical and effective policies for women workers prior to the presidential election. On December 16, the 4 specialists (Chang Jiyeon, Eun Soomi, Kwon Hyeja, and Seok Jae-eun) discussed changes in a labor paradigm, female labor without experiencing any discrimination, job creation for women workers, and rights to social security and public spirited care service.

Needed is a notion that all women are workers

Researcher Chang Jiyeon claimed that the minimum wage is usually set in accordance with people’s earnings and job performances in societies like Korea where social welfare systems are largely poor, and that many poor people cannot evade from poverty although they work hard since their quality of job is too low. Women are one of the most marginalized groups who cannot find proper and secure jobs in the labor market and are alienated and isolated from national welfare systems. Low income-earners out of the whole women workers accounted for 41.9% (who earned less than 4,712 won an hour as of 2006). 66.6% irregular women workers working at the establishments hiring less than 5 persons were found to be low-income earners. This shows there is a higher rate of women workers earning low incomes, compared with male workers, in terms of establishment and pattern of employment. In addition, only 16% women have social insurances through their jobs, while 32.5% men have. Only those who make a contribution to social insurances can be beneficiary of the welfare system in Korea, since the Korean welfare system is based on social insurances. Employees working in very small establishments and irregular workers are largely excluded from the welfare system, and most of them are women. Why women are in a very vulnerable position in the labor market is that male workers not needing to support families are standardized. Researcher Chang Jiyeon suggested that labor paradigms should be changed to solve the poverty and exclusion of women in terms of social welfare. Firstly, she suggested tthe expansion of the scope of social insurances tthe expansion of the scope of the labor standard act and the reinforcement of its management and tthe reinforcement of the management of a proper application of the minimum wage in order that social welfare can cover all women workers practically. Secondly, she also recommended that all labor and social security policies should be developed under the main definition that all women are basically workers. For this, she claimed that tthe policies should be targeted individually and tcare work should be socialized.

Alpha girls cannot grow to be alpha women in Korea

Researcher Eun Soomi indicated that women experience double discrimination in relation to disadvantages of job opportunities and patterns of employment, under her topic of “three tasks for guaranteeing female labor equally.” The steady growth of female economic activities has confirmed the improvement of direct discrimination. In particular, in the case of women at age of less than 29, their employment rate in the labor market has been improved, although the number is not high enough. In addition, the wage gap between genders has been narrowed steadily and wage differences between genders in the workplace have been enhanced. However, women workers have still suffered from indirect discrimination in the forms of work career disruption, changes in employment patterns before and after the period of career disruption, and wage differences due to the segregation by occupation between genders. The traditional M curve is still drawn in Korea. What is worse is that women’s employment patterns are usually changed from regular workers to irregular workers. The majority of aged women work as temporary and day workers or being self-employed. In conclusion, she mentioned there are alpha girls but no alpha women in the Korean society. Since direct discrimination has been improved, young women can find jobs more easily, but their jobs cannot be guaranteed 10 or 20 years after. Researcher Eun Soomi  suggested that taffirmative countermeasures for improving employment should be consolidated tequal work value equal wage should be effectively provided t countermeasures for irregular workers should be given, so as to find a way out of this situation.

Important are job creation and job continuity for women

Researcher Kwon Hyeja claimed the government should consider not only the creation of women’s jobs but also the continuity of their jobs. We are living in the Korean society where more than 10,000,000 women are employed. The government has focused on job creation for the not-economically active population, trying to induce women, not-economically active population, to participate in the labor market as economically active population. However, the researcher insisted problems in the female labor market should be solved in advance. While there has been a steady increase in the number of high quality of jobs (such as professional and high-ranking positions) for women, it is characteristic that the employment in the formal sector (where highly salaried workers work in large-size companies) is segregated from that in the informal sector and in very small-size companies (where jobs are very poorly paying) and their job entrances are separated. There are also large wage gaps and job shifts between the two sectors are not allowed. Additionally, it is more effective to provide policies preventing women from losing or leaving their jobs rather than supporting women workers who already experience job disruption. Overall, it is needed to create women’s jobs although they are high quality of jobs or not, but the creation of poor quality of jobs should be stopped. Recently, women’s jobs in the social services including teachers in childcare centers, nurses, house caretakers are involved in looking after patients, kids, and disabled people, where women are largely segregated and jobs offer poor payment. In this respect, she insisted it is necessary to expand but jobs for women in the non-traditional areas including IT where women do not largely work. In short, implied is the importance of tthe improvement of female participation rates in economic activities and the provision of countermeasures of preventing women from losing and leaving their jobs tthe improvement of job segregation by gender and the improvement of treating irregular women workers and tbuilding up systematic and effective employment infrastructures, in order to enhance the creation of high quality of jobs for women.

Rights to pensions for individual women should be guaranteed

Professor Seok Jae-eun made suggestions in regard of basic rights related to social security policies. Presently, Korean social security policies are based on social insurance and people have the rights to social security only through chipping in money in this situation. As of 2005, while 34.4% men did not receive pension, 65.6% women suffer from no pension. Amongst the population at the age of 20-59, while 40.7% men did not receive public pension, 73.5% women did not receive any. This is attributed to the structural exclusion of women, caused by higher rate of not-economically active female population, underemployment, unpaid family work, and non-householders. There are limitations of the current social security operated under the male breadwinner model and pension centered by household unit. Should be established a structure in which pension by individual unit should be guaranteed, individual women should have independent rights, and the right to pension should not be connected to pensioners’ performances and earnings. The professor highlighted t individual women can have the right to pension, t the right to social security should be provided immediately without excluding any through formulating a development plan of basic old-age pension.

In addition, professor Seok Jae-eun mentioned 80% of women are involved in care jobs in which there have been social demands for the expansion of care services, and accordingly care services have been expanded. Currently, long term care insurance system for the aged has been established and a variety of service vouchers have been issued. However, she indicated how to gain public spirit should be considered at the same time, although there are some advantages of possible privatization of these services because the quality of services might be upgraded. She also raised an issue that care services should be more public spirited for the side of care receivers and that ways in which care jobs can be developed into good professions should be founded out for the side of care providers.

A national assembly member Il-do Bae from the Grand National Party, a debater of the forum insisted that severe controls and restrictions on corporate activities should be removed, clarifying Grand National Party’s basic policy is based on economic growth. Meanwhile, Choonsaeng Yeoh, a female policy expert advisor from the United New Democratic Party promised the socialization of maternity protection and the expansion of affirmative employment improvement measures, saying “I am here to find logical ground for making policies. I am surprised at the high number of women who do not receive any employment insurance.”

Park Insook from the Labor Party said “your suggestions are already reflected on most of Labor Party’s policies. We have been concerned for re-organizing for women, male-centered policies related to employment, earning income, and social welfare, which is different from other political parties.” She also clarified “we believe qualitative accesses to jobs for women are needed rather than quantitative accesses. We have prepared for an activation project for women and a care sharing project.” Myung Jinsook, a special advisor from the Creative Korea Party mentioned “we should ask for whom growth is and for whom development is,” highlighting “it is needed to develop growth-and-welfare-based policies spontaneously.” She also insisted that social compromise should be ahead, because it is impossible to overcome wage gapes between the rich and the poor through any restructuring, saying “it is necessary to establish the perspective of equality and the politics of difference in which all social components can be treated equally.”