Human Rights Commission Urges National Assembly to Enact 'Equality Act'... Specifies 'Prohibition of Discrimination' Based on Sexual Orientation and Marital Status

Chairperson Choi Young-ae of the National Human Rights Commission held a press conference on the morning of the 30th at the National Human Rights Commission in Jung-gu, Seoul, regarding the expression of opinions for the enactment of the "Act on Equality and Prohibition of Discrimination." [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Dong-hoon] On the 30th, the National Human Rights Commission announced a draft bill urging the National Assembly to enact the "Act on Equality and Prohibition of Discrimination" (Equality Act).

On this day, the Human Rights Commission finalized the draft bill through a plenary committee and stated, "The enactment of the Equality Act is an urgent task that our society can no longer postpone," adding, "The National Assembly needs to conduct constructive discussions based on the draft and promptly proceed with legislation."

The Human Rights Commission explained, "An individual's identity consists of overlapping diverse attributes," and "Since individuals experience these elements interconnectedly in daily life, a law that comprehensively interprets various realities of discrimination is necessary to accurately identify discrimination."

Since its establishment, the Human Rights Commission has urged the National Assembly to enact a 'Discrimination Act' or 'Equality Act.' However, this is the first time it has explicitly expressed the opinion to enact the Equality Act directly.

The draft Equality Act, consisting of a total of 5 chapters and 39 articles, categorizes "grounds for discrimination" into 21 categories. It includes sexual orientation and gender identity, as well as marital status, pregnancy and childbirth, family form, and family circumstances.

Chairperson Choi Young-ae of the Human Rights Commission said, "While specifying 21 grounds for discrimination, we used the term 'etc.' to allow flexible application according to social changes," and "There are concerns in religious circles that saying 'homosexuality is a sin' might lead to arrest, but that is not the case. Beliefs within religious organizations fall under religious freedom." Chairperson Choi added, "We continuously explain, engage in dialogue, and seek understanding from religious circles," and said, "I believe this is a point we need to overcome in Korean society."

The draft divides the concept of discrimination into ▲direct discrimination ▲indirect discrimination ▲harassment ▲sexual harassment ▲discriminatory signs and inciting advertisements, clearly defining the scope of each concept.

Furthermore, it imposes an obligation on the state and local governments to correct existing laws, ordinances, and systems in accordance with the Equality Act and to prevent discrimination in the process of enforcing laws and policies. It also includes special provisions for protecting minorities during emergency measures in disaster situations. For malicious discriminatory acts, the draft includes penalty provisions such as compensating 3 to 5 times the damages caused by discrimination or imposing imprisonment of up to 3 years or a fine of up to 30 million won if disadvantages are imposed due to reporting discrimination.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.