14. Although the new measures introduced a legal definition of secondary victimization of
sexual violence victims, the tactic of sexual violence suspects is not properly dealt with.
The “false allegations of sexual violence” against victims are mainly used to silence
victims (Korea Women's Development Institute, 2020).
15. The “Act on the Punishment of Stalking Crimes” entered into force in 2021. However, the
Act focuses solely on physical approach and contact, punishment of perpetrators is
insufficient and measures to protect victims are lacking, while numerous cases of
workplace stalking are left without adequate countermeasures.
16. In September 2019, a team of two female online journalists, “Team Flame,” exposed major
cases of sexual exploitation on Telegram known as the “Nth Room” and “Baksa Room”
cases, which sparked social outrage and led to the punishment of the perpetrators. This led
to the amendments of the Act on the Protection of Children and Youth Against Sex
Offenses and the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment, etc. of Sexual Crimes,
which punish those who possess, purchase, store or watch non-consensually-recorded or
disseminated intimate images of victims. The Act on Promotion of Information and
Communications Network Utilization and Data Protection, etc. and the
Telecommunications Business Act were also amended, obligating online platform
operators to prevent the distribution of such images of victims. However, these laws are
not enforced on illegal websites.
Questions
17. Please provide information on any plans to effectively address stalking crimes and to
strengthen victim protection in judicial proceedings, including enactment of the “Act on
the Protection of Stalking Victims” that fully reflects the digital media environment.
18. Although relevant laws have been amended to place responsibility onto platform operators,
it is difficult to actually hold them accountable. What are the Korean government measures
to address this issue?
Issue 5: Underrepresentation of Women
Current Status
19. The proportion of female lawmakers in the 21st National Assembly of the Republic of
Korea is 19 percent, which is lower than the global average of 25.6 percent for the
proportion of women in parliament (as of 2021) and ranking 121st out of 190 countries
according to the Inter-Parliamentary Union.
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