65% of Transgender People Experience Discrimination... Over Half Give Up Job Seeking

National Human Rights Commission Survey
Only 8% Legal Gender Corrections... Still Challenging
Hate and Discriminatory Expressions Persist on Internet and Broadcasting

National Human Rights Commission of Korea building. Photo by National Human Rights Commission

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-ju] The majority of transgender individuals in South Korea have encountered hate and discriminatory expressions on social media, broadcasts, dramas, and films. Only 8% legally changed their gender after gender transition, and more than half reported giving up job seeking due to their gender identity.

On the 9th, the National Human Rights Commission of Korea announced the results of the "Transgender Hate and Discrimination Survey," conducted on 591 transgender individuals aged 19 and older through the Sookmyung Women’s University Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation. This is the first time a government agency has investigated the hate and discrimination experienced by transgender people.

According to the survey, 65.3% of transgender respondents reported experiencing discrimination due to being transgender within the past year. During the same period, 97.1% encountered hate expressions on the internet, including social media; 87.3% through broadcasts and the press; and 76.1% via visual media such as dramas and films.

Only 8% of respondents had legally corrected their gender, while 4.7% were currently undergoing the legal gender correction process. A total of 86.0% had not even attempted to do so. The main reasons included medical procedure costs, complicated legal processes, and health concerns.

Regarding job seeking, which is directly related to livelihood, 57.1% of transgender individuals reported having given up job applications due to issues related to their gender identity. Specifically, obstacles included reactions during the job application and hiring process that their appearance was not masculine or feminine enough (48.2%), discrepancies between the gender indicated on their resident registration number and their gender expression (37.0%), and the requirement to submit application documents listing their alma mater and other personal information (27.0%). Additionally, difficulties were experienced in using public facilities such as restrooms, accessing medical institutions, and military service.

The Human Rights Commission stated, "Transgender individuals experience hate and discrimination in various areas, but domestic laws, systems, and policies to guarantee human rights are insufficient. Based on the results of this survey, we plan to gather diverse opinions and prepare policy alternatives."

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