Korea serious about enhancing anti-discrimination measures

The government will toughen anti-discrimination measures, including banning all advertisements that are biased against racial minorities and women, the Justice Ministry said yesterday.

The ministry unveiled its draft law to crack down on discrimination based on gender, race, and physical disability.

The legislation is aimed at reducing a wide range of existing and potential discrimination against socially unprivileged people and minority groups, the ministry said.

The law will ban not only direct discrimination such as systematic exclusion and deprivations of rights and opportunities, but also indirect ones in which an apparently neutral standard may result in disadvantageous influences to certain individuals or groups, according to the ministry.

It will also prohibit commercial and employment advertisements that would possibly indicate or foster unfair treatment against certain groups.

The ministry plans to hold a public hearing today on the draft bill, and finalize the bill within this month. It said the law will help the country realize provisions codified in the Constitution and international human rights law, for protecting minorities and anyone else from inhumane treatment.

According to the draft bill, people must not be put in a disadvantageous position in employment, education, and other spheres because of their gender, age, physical condition, nationality, national origin, race, skin color, disease record, physical appearance, marital status, religion, ideology, sexual orientation, and so forth.

In case of violations, the court will be empowered to issue an order to halt the discriminatory acts, and require the abolition of discriminatory measures, along with compensation for people who suffer discrimination.

Victims of discrimination or people who notice such violations will be entitled to file a petition to the National Human Rights Commission of Korea, the nation`s human right panel affiliated to President Roh Moo-hyun. Then, the court will exercise its authority for relief measures.

People who appeal for legal relief must not be given any unfavorable treatment as retaliation, the bill says. A retaliatory act will face criminal punishment, it said.

The government has pushed for this legislation after the National Human Rights Commission of Korea made a recommendation for it in July last year.

However, critics questioned the effectiveness of the law, saying that the bill lacks strict punishments designed to enforce the law. They also point out that the bill omits irregular laborers from the protected group.

By Jin Dae-woong

(davidpooh@heraldm.com)