Question 42. The “9th periodic report of the Republic of Korea” contains no information on sexual minority women. Please provide statistical data on their number, situation and government measures to ensure equal rights for them. Issue 11: Human Rights of Migrant Women in Korea Current Status 43. About half of all migrants in Korea, including naturalized citizens, are women, amounting to nearly one million as of December 2021. Migrant women are with various status, such as by marrying Korean men, finding employment, studying, engaging in sex work, engaging in care work, and as refugees. However, the Korean government’s policy for migrant women is mainly focused on marriage immigrants only. 44. The number of migrant women workers are 80,000 with either an E-9 visa or an H-2 visa. One quarter of them are E-9 visa holders under the Employment Permit System, which exceptionally “allows workers to transfer to another workplace up to three times, only when the continuation of normal labor relations is deemed impossible due to the temporary closure or cessation of business, or delayed payment of wages, in order to protect the human rights of foreign workers.” However, the restriction on workplace transfers prevents migrant women who suffer sexual violence from transferring to another workplace, while unsafe accommodations, such as the representative example of so-called “plastic greenhouses,” are in extremely poor conditions including a high risk of sexual violence, inability to rest on a regular basis, and poor sanitary conditions. 45. Migrant women on an E-6-2 visa (for the purpose of performance) are often forced into prostitution at nightclubs. Most of them lead strictly controlled lives as they are either locked up or placed under surveillance, with their proof of identity (residence card or passport) taken away. In addition, they are not allowed to participate in community activities (going to churches, restaurants, etc.). Isolated from the outside world, those women face difficulties in accessing information, and those who are apprehended by the police while working at clubs or bars are subject to deportation orders on charges of violating the Immigration Act, before they can even claim the damages that they have suffered through human trafficking and sexual exploitation. Questions 46. What are the government plans to formulate and implement necessary policies that encompass various categories of migrant women residing in the country, beyond the current family policy centered on marriage immigrants? 10