{"id":2200714,"date":"2023-04-13T18:36:59","date_gmt":"2023-04-13T09:36:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/?p=2200714"},"modified":"2023-04-14T18:58:19","modified_gmt":"2023-04-14T09:58:19","slug":"south-korea-pumps-brakes-on-plans-to-overhaul-rape-laws-despite-calls-for-reform","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2023\/04\/south-korea-pumps-brakes-on-plans-to-overhaul-rape-laws-despite-calls-for-reform\/","title":{"rendered":"South Korea pumps brakes on plans to overhaul rape laws despite calls for reform"},"content":{"rendered":"

For more than a decade, South Korea\u2019s rape laws have been <\/span>premised<\/span><\/a> on the use of violence or intimidation, and this narrow definition has increasingly been criticized as out of step with international standards and public expectations in the aftermath of the #MeToo movement.<\/span><\/p>\n

Some segments of the ROK government appear to recognize this. The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family\u2019s (MOGEF) \u201cThird Basic Plan for Gender Equality (2023-2027)\u201d released on Jan. 26 states that the ministry will actively consider amending the definition of rape to make non-consensual sex a crime, working alongside the Ministry of Justice.<\/span><\/p>\n

But earlier this month, South Korean media reported that MOGEF <\/span>will not revise<\/span><\/a> its definitions of rape after all due to opposition from the justice ministry and presidential office, which ordered that the government should only change the law after reflecting the opinions of younger generations and establishing social consensus.<\/span><\/p>\n

The proposal\u2019s rejection by the justice ministry, despite its <\/span>previous communications<\/span><\/a> with MOGEF, suggests growing partisan influence within the ministry. MOGEF\u2019s compliance might indicate its focus on achievable goals before potentially losing ministerial autonomy.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Yoon\u2019s <\/span>government reorganization plan<\/span><\/a>, if passed, would abolish MOGEF, delegating its core functions to a lower-level office under the Ministry of Health and Welfare. The bill, which the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) has now<\/span> mostly agreed to<\/span><\/a>, is still pending because of a lack of consensus between it and the government over the gender ministry\u2019s fate.<\/span><\/p>\n

All this means that reforming rape laws will be unlikely for the remainder of President Yoon Suk-yeol\u2019s administration, impeding efforts to bring South Korea\u2019s legal system in line with evolving norms around sexual behavior and potentially delaying steps toward establishing a culture based around consent.<\/span><\/p>\n

OUT OF STEP<\/b><\/p>\n

International human rights law had consistently recognized rape as a form of violence against women since 1992, when the <\/span>U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)<\/span><\/a> made specific recommendations to all U.N. member states that they institute rape laws that give adequate protection to women and respect their integrity and dignity.<\/span><\/p>\n

The following year, the U.N. General Assembly adopted the<\/span> Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women<\/span><\/a>, the first universal instrument to address violence against women explicitly. Its text included references to \u201crape\u201d and \u201cmarital rape.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

However, rape remains one of the most widespread yet <\/span>underreported<\/span><\/a> manifestations of violence against women. <\/span>Narrow definitions in conservative criminal laws<\/span><\/a> contribute significantly to high levels of impunity for perpetrators.<\/span><\/p>\n

To this end, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women Dubravka Simonovic submitted a \u201c<\/span>Framework for Model Legislation on Rape<\/span><\/a>\u201d to the Human Rights Council in 2021, setting minimum protection standards for countries to adopt.<\/span><\/p>\n

The framework holds that the constitutive elements of rape should include all types of a sexual nature by whatever means committed against a person who has not given genuine consent. Here, consent must be given voluntarily and explicitly because the absence of consent is presumed when threats of force or coercion are exercised or implied.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"

Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo gives a speech at the Daegu Medical Center, Dec. 14, 2022 | Image: Facebook<\/a><\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

FLOWERS OF FIRE<\/b><\/p>\n

In her new book, \u201c<\/span>Flowers of Fire<\/span><\/a>,\u201d <\/span>Hawon Jung<\/span><\/a>, a freelance journalist and former Seoul correspondent for AFP, delves into gender equality issues in South Korea. The book combines firsthand accounts of inspiring activists with compelling facts and statistics, documenting the country\u2019s ongoing feminist movements from the mid to late 2010s.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jung highlights the challenges of prosecuting powerful figures for sexual violence, citing high-profile cases such as former South Chungcheong Province Governor and one-time presidential hopeful Ahn Hee-jung.<\/span><\/p>\n

Although Ahn ultimately served a three-and-a-half-year sentence for<\/span> repeatedly raping his secretary<\/span><\/a>, he was initially found not guilty in 2018 because the court deemed the victim\u2019s testimony insufficient to prove her \u201c<\/span>sexual freedom was violated against her will<\/span><\/a>.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The book also discusses the case of former President Moon Jae-in\u2019s chief rival for the presidency and current Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo.<\/span> Hong faced calls to resign<\/span><\/a> from the now-defunct conservative Liberty Korea Party\u2019s primary for the 2017 presidential election due to his confession in an autobiographical essay that he helped a friend procure a veterinary drug to commit date rape.<\/span><\/p>\n

While South Korea has seen a strong #MeToo movement and increased tolerance for public discussion on sexual misconduct cases, the book reveals that the legal environment for victims of sexual and gender-based violence in Korea remains largely unaccommodating and problematic. Victims often face scapegoating,<\/span> charges of making false accusations and threats of defamation lawsuits<\/span><\/a> by their accused assailants.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jung emphasizes that reforms are still needed to improve the responsiveness of laws and close loopholes that often favor assailants.<\/span><\/p>\n

FOSTERING A CONSENT CULTURE<\/b><\/p>\n

As Jung’s book shows, South Korea lags behind the \u201c<\/span>Framework for Model Legislation on Rape<\/span><\/a>\u201d in terms of criminalizing rape and its investigation, prosecution and remedy processes. With the Yoon government unlikely to make changes, South Korea may continue to fall behind other developed countries.<\/span><\/p>\n

Countries such as Sweden, Iceland, Spain and Belgium already recognize a lack of consent as a constitutive element of rape are now moving away from the \u201cno means no\u201d approach that requires explicit objection in favor of an \u201conly yes means yes\u201d option that demands explicit consent. Switzerland is expected to follow suit.<\/span><\/p>\n

Critics <\/span>argue<\/span><\/a> that affirmative consent cannot be proven and that the burden of proof shifts to the person defending themselves against an accusation, challenging the presumption of innocence. However, changing the law would benefit victims and help establish new norms for acceptable behavior.<\/span><\/p>\n

While legal reform is crucial, ending sexual and gender-based violence requires more than just changes to the law. Until political conditions shift, activists could focus on fostering a culture of consent among young people in their communities, particularly as the country’s <\/span>abstinence-focused sex education<\/span><\/a> curriculum fails to do so.<\/span><\/p>\n

Edited by John Lee<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Culture & Society<\/span><\/a>Domestic Politics<\/span><\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For more than a decade, South Korea\u2019s rape laws have been premised on the use of violence or intimidation, and this narrow definition has increasingly been criticized as out of step with international standards and public expectations in the aftermath of the #MeToo movement. Some segments of the ROK government appear to recognize this. The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10407,"featured_media":2200715,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[25,27],"yoast_head":"\nSouth Korea pumps brakes on plans to overhaul rape laws despite calls for reform - KOREA PRO<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2023\/04\/south-korea-pumps-brakes-on-plans-to-overhaul-rape-laws-despite-calls-for-reform\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"South Korea pumps brakes on plans to overhaul rape laws despite calls for reform - KOREA PRO\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"For more than a decade, South Korea\u2019s rape laws have been premised on the use of violence or intimidation, and this narrow definition has increasingly been criticized as out of step with international standards and public expectations in the aftermath of the #MeToo movement. 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