[2021 Budget] Groundbreaking for National Women's History Museum... Strengthening Support for Sexual Violence Victims

Ministry of Gender Equality and Family Allocates 1.1789 Trillion Won Budget

Support for Re-Employment of Career-Interrupted Women and Strengthening Youth Social Safety Nets

Lee Jung-ok: "We Will Enhance Diverse Family Care"

Minister Lee Jung-ok of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunju Lee] The establishment of the National Women’s History Museum is being promoted, and support for employment of women with career interruptions is being expanded.

The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family announced on the 1st that the "2021 Budget Proposal" containing these details has passed the Cabinet meeting. The budget under the Ministry’s jurisdiction for next year has been set at 1,178.9 billion KRW, an increase of 58.9 billion KRW (5.3%) compared to the 2020 budget.

This budget proposal focuses on ▲expanding employment support for women with career interruptions ▲establishing the National Women’s History Museum ▲strengthening the digital sex crime response system ▲expanding child-rearing and family support ▲and reinforcing the social safety net for youth.

A new budget of 300 million KRW has been allocated for the establishment of the National Women’s History Museum, a long-standing wish of the women’s community. The museum is planned to be built within the Korea Women’s Development Institute. Basic research will begin next year to actively promote the project.

To support reemployment of women with career interruptions, the number of Saeil Women interns will be increased by 1,600, and an additional employment incentive of 800,000 KRW will be newly provided if employment is maintained for six months after the internship ends. Furthermore, one specialized regional gender equality center will be pilot-operated to eliminate gender equality gaps between regions and to promote expansion.

With additional budget reflected, measures to strengthen responses such as prevention and monitoring of digital sex crimes will be pursued, including development of digital sex crime prevention education content, designation and operation of seven regional specialized counseling centers, and advancement of deletion support systems. Since children and youth involved in prostitution are defined as victims, the number of 'Regional Dedicated Support Centers' providing integrated support from emergency rescue to counseling, treatment, and recovery will be expanded from 10 to 17 nationwide.

Support hours for childcare services will increase from 720 hours to 840 hours annually, and two more metropolitan centers will be built to reduce mismatches. Budgets are also allocated for additional family centers and expansion of professional family counseling personnel. The number of recipients for single-parent family child-rearing support will be increased, and case managers and interpretation support personnel for multicultural families will also be expanded.

New support of 500,000 KRW per person will be provided for independent living activities of youth shelter residents, and upon discharge, a monthly independent living support allowance of 300,000 KRW will be newly provided for three years.

Minister of Gender Equality and Family Lee Jung-ok said, "The budget was organized with a focus on establishing an integrated system when promoting policies for women, families, and youth, such as care for diverse families and strengthening safety for women and youth." She added, "We will make every policy effort to ensure that women and diverse families are not marginalized in society after COVID-19."

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