KOREA (R OF)-SOGI-TBs-CESCR

Concluding Observations on Report 4 (2017) (Link)

Discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity

24. The Committee is concerned at the criminalization of same-sex acts in the military criminal act. The Committee is also concerned that the persons involved in same-sex relationships are exposed to discrimination in the enjoyment of several Covenant rights. Moreover, it is concerned at reports of discriminatory attitudes and acts against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons in many fields of public life (art. 2 (2)).

25. The Committee recommends that the State party take effective measures to eliminate de jure and de facto discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons. In particular, it recommends that the State party:

(a) Abrogate the provision of the military criminal act, which criminalizes same-sex acts;

(b) Revise legal and regulatory provisions that are discriminatory or have a discriminatory effect, such as those relating to social security, reproductive health and housing;

(c) Ensure that the comprehensive anti-discriminatory law to be adopted also prohibits discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity;

(d) Conduct awareness-raising campaigns to counter prejudices regarding lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons. 

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Suicide

55. While noting the implementation of successive plans to address the high level of suicide in the State party and the system of gatekeepers that has been introduced, the Committee regrets the lack of information about measures taken to tackle the societal root causes of the still high rate of suicide in the State party.

56. The Committee recommends that the State party strengthen efforts to prevent suicide, including by addressing its societal root causes, including undue stress in education and employment, poverty among older persons and discrimination and hate speech experienced by certain groups, such as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons.

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Concluding Observations on Report 3 (2009) (Link)

9. The Committee is concerned that a comprehensive anti-discrimination law has still not been adopted by the State party owing to the fact that the anti-discrimination bill submitted to the seventeenth National Assembly in December 2007 was discarded without consideration. The Committee is also concerned that the present version under assessment by the task force does not exclusively enumerate anti-discrimination grounds, but rather stipulates a list of typical anti-discrimination grounds as an example, and that it only contains certain grounds for discrimination, excluding others that had been indicated in the original bill, such as nationality and sexual orientation (art. 2).

The Committee urges the State party to adopt expeditiously a comprehensive anti- discrimination law that clearly spells out all the grounds for discrimination, as set out by article 2.2 of the Covenant and in line with the Committee’s general comment No. 20 on non-discrimination in economic, social and cultural rights (art. 2, para. 2).

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Concluding Observations on Report 2 (2001) (Link)

[no mention]

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Concluding Observations on Report 1 (1995) (Link)

[no mention]

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