South Korea's gender ministry said Tuesday that it will carry out a fact-finding survey on stalking and dating violence later this year and map out employment plans for women in the novel coronavirus pandemic.

In the 2021 policy plan, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family put its policy priority on preventing sexual crimes against women and promoting gender equality in the job market to help women get employed and continue their careers in an easier way.

The ministry said stalking and dating violence will be subject to its triennial research on domestic abuse and sexual violence starting this year in a way to keep up with rising calls for preventing such crimes.

To review and monitor the implementation and operation of related policies, a new division in the ministry will be created this year.

It will also formulate the legal ground for punishing those who lure underaged people for sex trafficking through social networks and strengthen education for teenagers to prevent online sex crimes.

The ministry said it will announce detailed measures to enhance female employment next month in order to support women who lose jobs amid the novel coronavirus pandemic and struggle to get employed again after childbirth.

"The COVID-19 pandemic has tightened the job market for women," Vice Minister Kim Kyong-seon said in an online briefing held on Monday. "We will come up with measures to solve the problem."

In cooperation with the Ministry of Employment and Labor, the gender ministry will offer detailed consultation services to job-seeking women from the low-income group and unemployment benefits worth 3 million won ($2,700) for six months.

Also, the ministry will push forward with its long-term plan to change the legal definition of family to embrace increasingly diverse family models, including unmarried couples cohabiting.

It had a public hearing on the issue last month and is now working on detailed plans, which will be released later, the ministry added. (Yonhap)