Ministry of Gender Equality and Family Actively Supports Emergency Care for Quarantine Personnel and Protection for Stalking Victims

Early Implementation of Special Support for Medical and Quarantine Personnel Childcare Services
Support for Counseling and Shelter Admission Before Stalking Punishment Act Enforcement
Establishment of Punishment Grounds for Online Grooming Previously in Legal Blind Spots

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family has actively implemented measures such as emergency childcare support for COVID-19 medical and quarantine personnel and proactive protection and support for stalking victims.

On the 14th, Kim Kyung-sun, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, introduced the ministry’s best practices in continuing proactive administration, including special support for COVID-19 childcare services and preemptive support before the enforcement of the Stalking Punishment Act.

The special support for COVID-19 childcare services was an early implementation of support exceptions starting in March, utilizing the proactive administration system by communicating with organizations such as the Nurses Association and the Health and Medical Workers’ Union to identify childcare demands and address care gaps for COVID-19 medical and quarantine personnel.

The ministry expanded the government support rate based on income criteria to 60-90% for COVID-19 medical and quarantine personnel and provided services such as 24-hour support considering job characteristics.

As of the end of August, the ministry provided emergency childcare services to approximately 54,000 households, including an average of 326 households of medical and quarantine personnel daily. Recently, they also introduced a simple payment service for childcare services called 'DolbomPay.'

Regarding the Stalking Punishment Act, which will be enforced from the 21st, the ministry provided customized support such as counseling and admission to protection facilities using support institutions for victims of domestic violence and sexual violence to prevent any support gaps.

To respond to digital sex crimes that are difficult to punish under existing laws, the ministry amended the 'Act on the Protection of Children and Juveniles from Sexual Abuse' in March and established the first legal grounds for punishing online grooming.

Through communication with related ministries and parent organizations, consensus was reached to abolish the internet game shutdown system. Currently, the amendment to the Youth Protection Act has passed the bill subcommittee of the National Assembly’s Gender Equality and Family Committee.

Vice Minister Kim Kyung-sun stated, "It is a fundamental duty of public officials to resolve citizens’ inconveniences through proactive interpretation of laws and swift decision-making and to present high-quality policies that have a strong impact on daily life. We will strive to establish proactive administration as an organizational culture so that women, youth, and diverse families can live safe and happy lives amid the COVID-19 crisis."

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