Human Rights Commission: "A Transgender Category Must Be Added to National Statistical Surveys"

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

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] The National Human Rights Commission has recommended that relevant agency heads add survey items to national statistics and surveys to identify the presence of sexual minorities, including transgender individuals.

On the 21st, the Human Rights Commission announced that it recommended the Ministers of Health and Welfare, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, and the Commissioner of Statistics Korea to add survey items related to sexual minorities, including transgender people, in nationally approved statistical surveys conducted by various agencies to understand the reality of transgender individuals and reflect it in policies. It also instructed the Prime Minister to prepare guidelines on this matter.

The Commission pointed out that "various surveys such as the Population and Housing Census, Health and Medical Status Statistical Survey, and Family Status Survey only distinguish between male and female genders, and the government has not considered transgender individuals when making policies," adding, "This classification treats transgender people as individuals with mental disabilities, which reinforces social prejudice and stigma and is likely to cause hatred and discrimination." It further stated, "Many transgender individuals give up using hospitals or find it difficult to enroll in insurance because their gender on identification cards differs from their appearance," emphasizing that "the government must prepare countermeasures."

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