Internet power house Korea has finally set its e-foot in the domain of politics. There is no denying that the most prominent trend in the 2002 presidential election is the online organization of voters. Starting with presidential candidate Roh Mu Hyun's fan club 'Nosamo' that showed its

When the delegation from the Preparatory Committee for the 2002 Joint Reunification Event arrived at Sokcho Port at 6:30 p.m. on August 7 after three days of working-level negotiations on Mt, Kumkang to announce the finalized schedule of events that both parties had agreed to, the reconciliatory moo

Vice-director of the Korea Party Politics Research Institute Son Hyuk Jae, who gave a presentation at the discussion to evaluate the public hearing on Chang Sang, said that "the biggest reason behind the vote against Chang's appointment, which in turn undermined the historic significance of the

Women groups came together to discuss the issue of Prime Minister appointee Chang Sang being rejected by the National Assembly on July 31, bringing to naught the appointment of the first-ever woman Prime Minister in Korea.During the discussion, participants said that although the result of the vote

Is achieving a two-digit rate of women's participation in politics still a pipe dream?The local elections, which recorded an all-time low turnout of 48.4%, ushered in 2 women district council heads out of 232 (0.9% compared to 0% in 1998), 63 women municipal heads out of 682 (9.2% compared to 5.

Parents of students have stepped forward for genuine local autonomy in education. They are going to run for seats in the education commission in their local governments.The National Parents' Association for True Education (NPATE) gave a press conference on June 18 in the Zelcova Tree cafe in Ang

The system of pre-election contesting for party nomination - adopted by both the ruling and opposition parties in preparation for the upcoming local elections on the pretext of establishing grassroots democracy - is becoming a stumbling block to the political empowerment of women. Four candidates fo

The 16 standing committees in the National Assembly are currently in the midst of administration inspection of 402 government agencies. As of September 19, women-related issues on the inspectors' agenda are as follows:▲ Legislation and Judiciary Committee = On September 13, legislator Cho Sun Hy

Recently, improvements have been made to the system of medical assistance for victims of sexual violence, and the government and political parties agreed to better protect the human rights of such victims in the process of police investigations. The government also came up with a comprehensive plan

Maternity Protection Laws (bill for the revision of the Labor Standard Act, Equal Employment Act and Employment Insurance Act) - the one-year-old top agenda of women workers' groups - were finally passed in the National Assembly on June 26, and are now waiting to take effect.Through the resoluti

Youth and women groups are grappling with the challenge of finding fundamental solutions to the prostitution of under-aged people.On 5 June, the Juvenile Delinquency Department of the Seoul Prosecutor's Office (Chief Shin Man Seong) submitted a recommendation to the Ministry of Justice calling f

The Minister of Labor and the Tripartite Committee of Labor, Management and Government decided on May 30 to discuss the women workers' monthly leave in connection with the women-related labor laws currently being reviewed at the National Assembly. The decision has prompted backlash from women

"The dearth of women in local autonomous governments" is hardly an exaggeration. The last local elections held on June 4 1998 produced a total of 4,180 local legislators, of which only 97, or a paltry 2.3%, were women. This is a mere 0.1% increase from the 1995 elections, in which women accounted fo

During the elections held at the UN ECOSOC on May 3, Korea was elected as a member country of the UN Human Rights Commission for the fourth time running and the Commission on the Status of Women for the third time running. This achievement has set the stage for reflecting the Korean government's

Maternity Protection Laws, which had been postponed for two years, may go into effect as early as July 1.The bill does propose a lengthening of the maternity leave from 60 to 90 days. However, it fails to include paid leave for abortions and miscarriages, monthly one-day leave for obstetric check-up

The two-month-old Ministry of Gender Equality has finally outlined its job for the year 2001. Minister Han Myong Sook revealed the ministry's plans at a policy discussion session hosted by the KNCW on April 6 at the Sejong Hotel. The following are the highlights of the plans.▲ Appoint officers a

Civic Groups Call for Revision of SOFA ... SOFA Must be Replaced by Peace TreatyThe five-year-long negotiations for the revision of the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) were finally concluded. The newly-revised SOFA is considered to reflect Korea's demands regarding criminal jurisdiction, envir

On Dec 27, 2000, it was confirmed that the Ministry of Gender Equality will be set up as a central administrative branch. Women's groups in Korea have continuously demanded the establishment of a Ministry of Gender Equality that can address the still widespread problems of patriarchal culture an