Human Rights Commission: "Excluding Female Members from Golf Club Violates Equality Rights"

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] The National Human Rights Commission of Korea has ruled that limiting full membership eligibility at golf clubs to men constitutes discriminatory behavior that infringes on constitutional equality rights.

On the 2nd, the Human Rights Commission recommended that the CEOs of A Tourism Development Co., Ltd. and B Tourism Co., Ltd. improve their golf club operations to ensure women are not excluded from full membership eligibility. The Commission elaborated, "Restricting full membership qualifications at golf clubs to women is an unjustified discrimination based on gender, which favors, excludes, distinguishes, or treats certain individuals unfavorably in relation to the supply or use of goods and commercial facilities."

Previously, the Commission received complaints claiming that A and B companies’ golf clubs limited full membership eligibility to men, thereby restricting women’s membership and constituting gender-based discrimination. The investigation revealed that the golf clubs, opened in the 1980s and 1990s, set membership qualifications as "men aged 35 or older" reflecting the social atmosphere at the time and have maintained these conditions since.

The golf clubs argued, "Women can join as weekday members or family members and can also use the golf clubs as non-members, so the infringement on rights due to restrictions on full membership qualifications is not significant." However, the Commission judged, "Compared to the benefits enjoyed by full members, such as weekend access, usage fees, and access to affiliated golf clubs, there is unfavorable treatment."

The Commission also pointed out, "Even if golf was a male-centered sport when the golf clubs opened, currently the gender ratio among golf participants has become nearly equal." According to the '2017 Korea Golf Indicators' published by the Korea Golf Association, the annual golf participation population is 6.36 million, with 3.47 million men (54.6%) and 2.89 million women (45.4%).

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